Athens - National Opera (Greece 2009)
An architectural jewel with eco-friendly water solutions
The Greek National Opera has a new home which will become an exciting destination for music lovers and architecture connoisseurs alike. The new 28,000 m² (301,000 sq. ft.) auditorium is an architectural jewel, designed to enhance the opera experience for customers and artists alike.
Its world-class acoustics, mechanical capabilities, flexible staging, and innate beauty will position it for immediate entry into the world opera circuit, ready to play host to the most technically demanding operas, international multimedia art productions, and formidable solo vocalists.
The project is fully funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (www.SNF.org) and will incorporate the National Library of Greece and the Stavros Niarchos Park, all designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano.
On the completion of the project, the Foundation will hand the SNFCC to the Greek State, which will undertake its full control and operation. As well as being an architectural challenge the project has had the clear objective of being eco- friendly and incorporating many major technical innovations.
Water management solutions that pay
Aquality has added its professional water management expertise to the project and provided two Greywater Recycling systems, which allow the building to be super water efficient in the long run.
In Greece water is precious and every effort has to be made to retain and use all the water available. Water is collected from showers and hand wash basins and then re-cycled for toilet flushing and any other non-potable water applications like irrigation and cleaning.
Two Aqua Recycling Control systems have been installed to facilitate total treatment of non-potable water of up to 4,000 litres per day. This will undoubtedly result in significant savings over the coming years.
