The Averof building, is one of the most important neoclassical buildings in Athens, constructed to house the ‘School of the Arts’; it pursues its educational operation to this day, according to the wishes of Metsovo benefactors Tositsas, Stournaras and Averof, to whom we owe its creation.
Flanked symmetrically by the Deanery and the School of Fine Arts, the Averof building was designed by Lyssandros Kaftantzoglou as an educational edifice.
The Averof is one of the most important and elegant buildings of the Athenian Neoclassical period located in the centre of Athens. The building’s initial plans were elaborated in 1859 and its construction began in 1862. These original plans were to be revised and reformed by the building’s completion in 1878. The building was in continuous use for more than 125 years during which it suffered from several additions and alterations. It reached a deteriorating state and was eventually in great need of restoration and modernisation in order to continue operating as an educational establishment. The conservation work was successfully achieved and the building became operative in the beginning of 2010.
The conservation project of the Averof Building has been awarded the 1st prize for the year 2012, by Europa Nostra, as an excellent example of a fine and sophisticated restoration and renovation intervention.
