Greece

ABOUT

Serge Ferrari Group was involved in the construction of the new Agia Sophia Stadium in Athens. Designed by Greek architect Athanassios Kyratsous, the building features a distinctive canopy made from Tenseo Advanced 1202 S2.

The new home stadium for AEK Athens FC

Located in Nea Filadelfeia, a suburb to the northwest of Athens, the new stadium was built in the location of the former Nikos Goumas Stadium, which had been home to AEK Athens FC since 1930. Considered beyond repair, and further damaged by the 1999 Athens earthquake, the arena was eventually dismantled in 2003 and a new project was proposed to replace it.

The project, which had been several years in the making, with multiple roadblocks along the way, eventually began construction in 2019 and was completed at the end of 2022. The new stadium has a seating capacity of 32,500 spectators, making it one of the largest sport arenas in Greece.

The venue was given the name Agia Sophia Stadium, echoing Istanbul’s famous Hagia Sophia mosque, which was once the centre of the Greek Orthodox Church. It also has a commercial name: the OPAP Arena Stadium.

The design for Agia Sophia Stadium is the work of Greek architect Athanassios Kyratsous. A graduate of Università di Reggio Calabria in Italy, he dedicated the early years of his career to preserving, restoring and refurbishing historical sites. When he returned to Greece in 1989, he founded his own practice, AK & Associate Architects, which specialised in the restoration of landmark monuments, and public and private heritage buildings.

Although the company has now broadened its expertise to residential, commercial, cultural and retail projects, its design approach remains rooted in a classical, timeless aesthetic, consistently striving to combine innovation — technical and technological — with a deep reverence for the past.

A design concept inspired by Antiquity

The high facades of Agia Sophia Stadium echo the city walls of former Constantinople. Still extant today, the so-called Theodosian walls are the largest and most effective defensive structure built at the end of Antiquity. Consisting of three successive rows of defensive walls studded with fortified towers, the structure was constructed during the first half of the 5th century to widen the defences for the capital of the expanding Byzantine Empire, protecting the city against any land attack. For more than 800 years, the walls successfully blocked all attempts to invade the city, and are still standing today in spite of the region’s high seismic activity.

With outer walls reaching more than 20 metres high, the stadium has a somewhat unusually bulky appearance from the outside. The design incorporates monumental entrances inspired by Antiquity, as well as an extension along the south stand. Immediately adjacent to it is a plaza, where a metal statue of a double-headed eagle — the symbol of AEK Athens FC — was erected.

Tenseo Advanced 1202 S2 for the stadium’s canopy

Other distinctive features contribute to the design’s unmistakable look, including towers on each of the stadium’s four corners. In addition to their aesthetic quality, they also provide the main support for the rows of metal arches forming the canopy’s frame. The resulting structure has been covered with 13,500 sqm of Tenseo Advanced 1202S2. The distinctly convex shape of the metal arches creates a regular and symmetrical undulation that ripples all along the shape of the canopy.

This composite membrane combines durability, ease of maintenance and consistent colour when viewed against the light. It protects spectators below from the rain and sun, while also giving the stadium a functional and modern aesthetic. Flexible yet highly resistant, Tenseo Advanced 1202S2 is particularly well suited to the construction of canopies for sport venues and stadium stands.

Project participants :

Architect: Athanassios Kyratsous ​
General Contractor: Dikefalos 1924 S.A. ​
Canopy structure: Cimolai S.p.a. (Italy) ​
Canopy engineering consultants: Arka Synthesis (Greece) ​
Canopy manufacturers: Arka Synthesis (Greece)
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