[MGSA-L] National Technical University of Athens Wins Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Prize

[June Samaras]

National Technical University of Athens Wins Cultural Heritage/Europa
Nostra Prize
By Spyros Kouvoussis on June 4, 2012 in news


On June 1, the EU prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra was
awarded. The ceremony took place in Lisbon, Portugal, with
Greek-Cypriot Commissioner Androula Vassiliou announcing the six
winners. Among them, there was one Greek project from the Architect
School of the National Technical University of Athens. The project was
the restoration of the Averof Building.

Europa Nostra is a network of more than 250 NGO’s and has thousands of
members in more than 50 countries. It was founded in 1963 and since
then, its main goal has been to preserve the cultural heritage of
Europe and promote sustainable development with regard to cultural
heritage. The Prize was first awarded by Europa Nostra in 2005. Prizes
are given in two categories. Each of the best six projects wins a
Grand Prix and 10,000 euro while the best 25 receive an award.
Competing categories include research, conservation, dedicated service
by individuals or organizations, education and training. Greek
projects have achieved well other years also. In 2005 and 2006,
projects won an Award, in 2009 one project won the Grand Prix and
another the Award, in 2010, Greece also won another Award and in 2011,
Greece won an Award and Cyprus a Grand Prix.

The ceremony was held in Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon in the presence
of Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture,
Multilingualism and Youth, and Plácido Domingo, the world-renowned
tenor and President of Europa Nostra. The winner of the public choice
award, chosen in an online poll from the 28 overall laureates for
2012, are the fortification of Pamplona in Spain. The jury commented,
“The restored fortifications are no longer a defensive wall, but a
meeting place and a symbol of unity for the citizens and for the
town.”

The rest Grand Prix winning projects were Number 2 Blast Furnace,
Sagunto, Spain, Poundstock Gidhouse, Bude, Cornwall, UK, Study on the
Augustus Botanical code of Ara Pacis, Rome, Italy, Dedicated service
to heritage by Paraschiva Kovacs, Satu Mare, Harghita County, Romania
and an educational program for a heritage site developed by the
Norwegian Heritage Foundation, Vågå, Norway.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Commissioner Vassiliou commented, “For
10 years, the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards
has become the most prestigious of its kind in Europe. I would like to
thank all the winners for their energetic commitment to protecting our
cultural heritage and Europa Nostra and the juries for their sterling
work. The Prize has proven very effective in raising awareness among
decision-makers and the public about the value of cultural heritage
for European society and the economy and our responsibility for
protecting it for future generations. This is why we intend to
continue supporting cultural heritage through the Culture program and
the future Creative Europe program.”

Europa Nostra’s President, Plácido Domingo, added, “Our award winners
stand for excellence, for passion and for dedication. They are perfect
ambassadors of the power of our ‘Creative Europe.’ Europa Nostra and
the European Commission are committed to unlocking the full potential
of Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. They are the key to social
cohesion as well as for sustainable economic growth in Europe.”

Averof building is in the center of Athens, on Pattision Street. It
was built in 1873 by the famous Greek architect Lyssandros
Kaftantzoglou. It is the first building of the entire complex. It was
named Averof by George Averof, a rich Greek who’s funding made the
construction possible. The University was later called “Metsoveio” to
honor Metsovo, a small Greek city which is the birthplace of famous
Greek philanthropists, such as Averof, Tositsas and Stournaras. This
is also the building which students occupied in 1973 in the
“Polytechneio” rebellion against the military dictatorship. The door
that was pulled down by tanks is exhibited along with statues in
memory of the students. The conservation work started with an
estimation of the initial building, as the building has had minor
changes during the last century. The proposed plan included restoring
the building as it was initially, strengthening its structure,
modernizing it in the interior but keeping all the neoclassical
elements in the exterior. Also, the project wanted to restore the
building as a functional educational building. The goal was achieved
when it was delivered in early 2010, almost 5 years after it had
started. Nowadays, only the School of Architect uses its facilities
exclusively. All other Schools use the building along with the
University campus in Kaisariani, in the east of Athens.

(Source: European Commision, Europa Nostra, National Technical
University of Athens)

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June Samaras
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