Battle for 3 for the construction of Greece’s three new hospitals by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation

TERNA, AKTOR-MYTILINEOS and AVAX are claiming through a tender held by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation the three new hospitals that are being developed in the region of Greece, through the international Initiative for Health. The offers of the three consortiums were given yesterday. Now they will be evaluated and in the Spring it will be decided who will be the contractor for the projects costing 500 million euros. The new hospitals will be built in Thessaloniki, Komotini and Sparta.

The innovative new framework is being developed alongside the three new SNF hospitals, which are: – the first in the city – Thessaloniki University Pediatric Hospital SNF, Komotini General Hospital SNF, and Sparta General Hospital SNF. 

The design of these seeks to exceed the specifications of the LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) at the level of Platinum Certification (Platinum level). The architect of the buildings is Renzo Piano, an old acquaintance.

The design

The design of the new SNF hospitals includes features aimed at their sustainable operation. In the construction of the Komotini SNF General Hospital, for example, renewable wood products will be used, which will have the potential to contribute to the retention of carbon dioxide.

Solar panels on the roof will be able to generate 1.6 megawatts of electricity, meeting nearly one-fifth of the hospital’s energy needs, as well as geothermal energy that will support nearly all of the facility’s heating and cooling functions. In addition, the operations of all three SNF Hospitals will be managed paperless, helping to reduce their carbon footprint.

This effort to establish new zero-carbon standards—like the SNF Health Initiative as a whole—is based on the concept of international cooperation.

The new hospitals aim to provide high quality healthcare to patients while piloting best practices in sustainability. The SNF, in a shared vision with the architectural offices that have undertaken the design of the hospitals, Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) and Betaplan, collaborates with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to develop a zero-carbon readiness framework that can serve as a model for future construction projects.

The partners

The USGBC, which developed the LEED certification program, will provide support in developing a framework of standards that must be met to achieve zero carbon readiness. Along with the USGBC, GreenBusinessCertificationInc.(GBCI) will evaluate the implementation of the LEED framework in projects to certify that their design meets sustainability goals.

ArcSkoruInc. will provide expertise and tools to manage, measure, analyze, score and communicate real-world performance data to ensure building efficiency. These three organizations have joined forces with the SNF, with the help of sustainability consultancy group DCarbon, signing a Memorandum of Understanding to pilot a framework to identify new-build buildings that meet the specifications to operate with zero carbon emissions. Each of the parties involved in the projects, from the contractors to the architects, will be part of this collaborative effort.

The architectural firm RPBW has been the driving force behind this effort to pave the way to a zero-carbon future. The RPBW has collaborated with the SNF to create the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in Athens, an international, environmentally sustainable public space for expression, culture and entertainment, which is also the Foundation’s largest single donation to date. The project achieved LEED Platinum Certification, an important milestone for Greece and beyond, when the Center opened its doors to the public in 2016.

The fact that hospitals are a model for the new standards is particularly important. Hospitals operate around the clock and must have a reliable and uninterrupted supply of electricity to guarantee patient safety, which makes them particularly demanding energy consumers. The future operation of SNF hospitals with zero carbon emissions will be a model for addressing a huge source of emissions and will demonstrate the possibility of setting ambitious sustainability targets even for difficult and complex projects.