Renzo Piano: Environmentally Progressive Concept Design for Athens' Modern Urban...

Renzo Piano: Environmentally Progressive Concept Design for Athens' Modern
Urban Icon, The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC)

ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the Stavros
Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), a
world-renowned architectural firm, revealed the concept design for the Stavros
Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), housing the National Library of
Greece and the Greek National Opera, both set within the Stavros Niarchos
Park. SNFCC is the first public-private endeavor of its kind with the Greek
State and SNF is pleased to have formed a precedent-setting relationship to
create this new urban icon. Inspired by SNF's strong ties to Greece and
enduring commitment to enriching the lives of citizens from around the world,
SNFCC will honor Greek culture by enabling both Greek and global visitors to
experience art, education, and green space.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090127/PH63361 )

As SNFCC will be a global destination, Andreas Dracopoulos, Co-President and
Member of the SNF Board of Directors, remarked that SNF is proud to,
"contribute to the Greek State's efforts in providing the people of Greece
with additional resources with which to strengthen our ability to face today's
challenging world. The challenges are great and no one, either in the public
or private domain can solve alone all of the issues and challenges we are
facing as individuals, as Nations, as the world at large."

Commenting on the significance of SNFCC, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis
stated that, "this Center is a milestone for our country. The design is truly
astonishing. In a wonderful manner, it combines high aesthetics with
functionality and consideration for the environment. I am certain that its
impact will extend beyond our national boundaries."

State-of-the-Art & Environmentally Progressive
SNFCC will be located at the Faliron Delta area in Athens, Greece and will
include the latest in environmentally progressive, state-of-the-art
facilities. In addition to increased exposure to the arts and access to green
space, both physical and virtual guests will benefit from the technologically
advanced library. RPBW also paid particular attention to the accessibility
for people of all ages and special needs.

In keeping with SNF's and RPBW's mission to create an emissions neutral
facility, the project has been conceptualized with the highest standards of
environmental sustainability. A pivotal design element that will play a
significant role in helping achieve this aggressive standard can be seen in
Piano and his Building Workshop's innovative roof- a series of interconnected
photovoltaic cell panels which will cover the structure's needs, taking
advantage of the pure "green" solar and wind energy. SNFCC is also expected
to receive LEED certification. LEED addresses all building types and
emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site
development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources
selection, and indoor environmental quality.

"Athens' First Port"
Another fundamental attribute incorporated into SNFCC is the sea, which has
played an important role in Greece's history and culture. To draw in the
sea's sense of light, limitless opportunity, and exploration, a canal will run
parallel to the existing Espalanade. Within the border of SNFCC, the canal
will provide visitors a place for family gatherings, activity, and relaxation,
while also fulfilling a need for flood-protection.

"We were extremely honored by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation's invitation to
play a role in such a generous gift to Greece," noted Renzo Piano. "The
Cultural Center's proximity to water, and the natural warm breezes and light
of Athens were particularly inspiring during the design process. It was
immediately clear that we must take advantage of all these elements to
ultimately design a zero emissions building that expresses movement and
energy."

SNFCC is expected to open in 2015 and its construction will be funded
exclusively by SNF with an approximate budget of 450 million Euros, pursuant
to a Memorandum of Understanding executed with the Greek State. Once
completed, the project will be turned over to the Greek State. The site is
approximately 187,800 square meters.

About Renzo Piano and RPBW
(www.rpbw.com)

Renzo Piano was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1937, into a family of builders. He
has maintained strong sentimental and cultural ties with his hometown.
Genoa's historic center, its port and its connection to the sea, and his
father's trade activities deeply influenced the young architect's perspective.
During his studies at the Milan Polytechnic, Renzo Piano worked at Franco
Albini's workshop. He graduated from the University in 1964 and began working
with experimental lightweight structures and basic shelters.

Between 1965 and 1970, Piano traveled extensively to the United States and the
United Kingdom. In 1971, he founded "Piano & Rogers" jointly with Richard
Rogers, and together they won the competition for the Centre Georges Pompidou
in Paris, where Piano currently lives. From the early 1970s until the 1990s,
he collaborated with engineer Peter Rice and established "Atelier Piano &
Rice" in 1977.

In 1981, Piano founded the "Renzo Piano Building Workshop" (www.rpbw.com),
employing a hundred people with offices in Paris, Genoa, and New York.

Piano's projects include, among many others, the Cultural Centre Georges
Pompidou in Paris; the regeneration of Genoa's old port; the redevelopment of
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin; the Kansai International Airport Terminal in Osaka;
the Beyeler Foundation Museum in Basel; the Centre Paul Klee in Bern. His most
recent projects, including the New York Times' newly-established headquarters
in New York City (2008) and the California Academy of Sciences'
sustainability-oriented compound (2008), are indisputable proof that Piano's
art matures, but his gaze remains adolescent and uncompromising. Renzo
Piano's many awards include the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1998); the
Medaille d'Or by the International Union of Architects (2002); and the Gold
Medal by the American Institute of Architects (2008).

About The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
(www.SNF.org)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation, an international philanthropic organization,
underwrites charitable activities in four primary areas: education, social
welfare, health and medicine, and arts and culture. The Foundation supports
selective programs and makes grants to non-profit organizations throughout the
world, many of which promote, maintain, and preserve Greek heritage and
culture. Since its inception in 1996, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation has
provided total grant commitments of $US 361,254,582 to more than 1,500
non-profit organizations in Greece and abroad, in more than 86 nations around
the world.

The Foundation is administered by a Board of Directors composed of: Philip
Niarchos, Spyros Niarchos, Andreas Dracopoulos - Co-Presidents and members of
the Board, as well as Donald Harrison, Kurt Arnold, and Jeffrey K. Brinck. In
Greece, an Advisory Committee researches and recommends to the Foundation's
Board various nonprofit organizations and projects for funding. Its Chairman
Emeritus is Constantine Dracopoulos. The Advisory Committee is comprised of
George Agouridis - Chairman , Costas Iordanidis, Panagiotis Koulouvaris,
Adonis Kyrou, Anna Pouskouri-Reiche, Protopresbyter Thomas Synodinos, Eleni
Triantafyllides, Eftychios Voridis. and Yerassimos Yannopoulos.

Epaminondas N. Farmakis is the Chief Operating Officer and Secretary to the
Greek Advisory Committee.

Additional information on the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center, the Foundation
and all projects, may be found at www.SNF.org/SNFCC and www.SNF.org

SOURCE Stavros Niarchos Foundation

Penny Dagre of Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Athens, Greece, +30-210-877-8357,
p.dagre@SNF.org; or Bibb Hubbard, +1-646-213-7253, bibb.hubbard@widmeyer.com,
or Anne Sparkman, +1-646-213-7251, anne.sparkman@widmeyer.com, both of
Widmeyer Communications, New York, NY