The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece was born from the desire to give the city a state-of-the-art cultural destination and space entirely dedicated to the promotion of the arts and learning. The project is composed of two main facilities, the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera, which merged into a single building.
The project was designed by Renzo Piano to be a carbon-neutral facility and to meet rigorous sustainability goals. The project includes a 108,000 ft² canopy composed of interconnected photovoltaic cell panels that help support the daily power needs of the site. The solar array of the canopy is about 87,000 ft² and generates a peak power of about 1.3 MW. Natural ventilation strategies were used to further enhance the energy efficiency of the project.
Baumann Consulting provided full-scope commissioning services for stage technology and all technical systems, including the building enclosure, MEP, ITC, PV, life safety, and fire protection systems. In addition to creating a calibrated energy model, Baumann conducted measurement and verification (M&V) services to verify the long-term performance of the project and ensure that it meets its energy and sustainability goals.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center project was the recipient of the Building Commissioning Association (BCxA) 2019 Building Award, Ongoing Building Commissioning category.
