The Italian Pritzker Prize winning architect Renzo Piano has revealed his designs for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens.

Set to house the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera, both within the boundaries of Stavros Niarchos Park, the 187,800 sq m SNFCC is the first public-private endeavour of its kind with the Greek State. The centre is expected to open in 2015 and its construction will be funded exclusively by SNF, an International philanthropic organisation concentrating on education, social welfare, health and medicine, and arts and cultural projects. It won't come cheap - Piano's renderings will require around 450 million Euros to realise, but the finished structure will be an emissions neutral facility, conceptualised with the highest standards of environmental sustainability. A pivotal design element that will play a significant role in helping achieve this can be seen in the 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 - and a feature that was apparently inspired by the immediate surroundings:

“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.” Piano commented.

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis was clearly enamoured with the proposed designs, stating that, “this Centre 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".

Piano has yet again proved his ability to create modern icons for ancient cities - lets hope that his Maltese project meets with the same kind of approval.