Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano has finished a major new complex in Athens, Greece, that features a park, a library, and a theater. Called the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (named after the multi-billionaire Greek shipping tycoon) and located in the Kallithea district, Greece’s most densely populated municipality, the 1.8 million-square-foot space will be home to the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. In 2008, the project was launched with a $660 million donation from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation—one of the largest sums in history for a cultural center. Now that it’s complete, the foundation has gifted the massive complex to Greece, though it will still contribute funds for regular maintenance.
Renzo Piano’s task was to transform a derelict parking lot used during the 2004 Olympics. He began the project by constructing an artificial hill near the southern end of the site. This gave the opportunity for any structure built atop the mass to have views of the nearby Bay of Kallithea, scenery that has long been obstructed due to modern developments. “From our first observations, there emerged the idea that by raising the ground—with a slight slope and a progressive course—we could restore the beautiful view of Kallithea,” said Piano in a statement.
Piano turned this hill into a sloping park—featuring indigenous Greek plants selected by New York landscape designer Deborah Nevins—that forms the roof of the opera house and library. The park reaches a height of 105 feet at its peak, where the architect built solar panels that generate 2.5 megawatts of power, enough to run the library during operational hours.
Though separate buildings, the opera and the library are united by a public plaza known as the Agora—a reference to the central gathering spaces in ancient Greece. Within the library, a collection of over 5,000 manuscripts, documents, records, and engravings dating from the ninth century will be on display. The opera house, which features two auditoriums, will host traditional operas and ballets, as well as more avant-garde performances.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center will officially open to the public later this year, as work on the interiors continues.
