Architectural Vision and Construction Innovations     

On the occasion of celebrating 5 years since being delivered to the Greek State as a donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) is presenting a host of celebratory events and activities over the course of 5 days, February 19 to 23.

In the context of this five-day anniversary celebration, a panel discussion is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 23, focusing on the innovations in the design and construction of the SNFCC, and featuring people who worked for the completion of this great project as key speakers. The event will be accompanied by workshops and a speed-mentoring session, aimed at engineering students, with the objective of strengthening the new generation and enhancing their knowledge and skills.

2006–2016: The Construction of the SNFCC as a Field of Learning
Architectural Vision and Construction Innovations

After an international call for tenders, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) chose the renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano and his architectural office, Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), for the design and implementation of the SNFCC. The significance of the project, as well as the vision and expectations of the SNF, found their best expression in Renzo Piano, whose talent and commitment to the design of public spaces served to create a building that is an architectural landmark. Throughout the construction of the SNFCC, over the course of the 2006–2016 decade, thousands of workers from Greece and abroad contributed to it, leaving a great legacy to the next generation of engineers, architects, and all the other specialties involved in the project.

During the time period of the construction works, a new term was coined that describes all of the above: the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center as a “Construction University.” With this phrase as a starting point, we are organizing workshops, speed-mentoring sessions, and a large panel discussion bringing together key contributors to the project who left their personal mark on the entire spectrum of the construction process.

The aforementioned workshops and mentoring sessions are open to all interested university students who wish to attend, while the panel discussion is open to the general public.

The program in detail:

Wednesday, February 23

BOOK CASTLE, Workshops, 13:00 – 16:00

13:00 Agis Mourelatos and Spiros Giotakis (Architects), on the experience of designing and implementing the first Visitors Center

14:00 Eleni Spyopoulou (Landscape Architect, Forester), on innovative practices in the creation of the Stavros Niarchos Park

15:00 Konstantinos Paschalidis (PhD Civil Engineering), on the seismic isolators and the earthquake-resistant design of the SNFCC

LIGHTHOUSE, Speed Mentoring, 16:30 – 18:00

Host: Yiorgis Yerolymbos (Photographer – Architect)

Mentors: Margarita Ventouraki (Architect), Elli Pagalou (Landscape Architect), Phaidon Perrakis (Architect), Gregory Penelis (Civil Engineer)

LIGHTHOUSE, Panel Discussion 19:00 – 20:30 

SNFCC: Design and Construction Innovations

Discussion Moderator:  Yiorgis Yerolymbos (Photographer – Architect)

SNFCC: Human-centered Architectural Innovations and Sustainable Design
Vassily Laffineur, RPBW Associate

SNFCC: Innovative Practices in Project Management
Theodore Maravelias, PhD Architecture, Director of Technical Grants at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)

SNFCC: Trailblazing Practices in Landscape Architecture for the Creation of the Stavros Niarchos Park
Elli Pagalou, Landscape Architect, Co-designer (together with Deborah Nevins) of the Stavros Niarchos Park

SNFCC: The Canopy – Engineering and Innovation
Gregory Penelis, Civil Engineer, responsible for the structural design of the Canopy