On the AUTH campus, the buildings of the Observatory and the Observatory that were renovated and inaugurated today
“METEOROSCOPE” is written on the bronze plaque with the wooden frame that is placed inside one of the stones that dress the cylindrical building, which is externally covered with bare stonework and refers to the Rotunda.
A two-story building with a basement and a glass-enclosed observation deck on the roof. Its entrance is at the point of geographic south. The vestibule of the ground floor is decorated with a large mural on “The unchanging climate of Greece from Greek Mythology”.
The Meteorological Observatory was founded on June 12, 1954, under the rectorship of Marinos Sigalas and with Vasilios Kyriazopoulos as director at the time. The architectural work of Yiannis Triantafyllidis and Patroklos Karantinos is perhaps the only work of the first post-war period that distances itself from the modernist idiom of the time and certainly differs from the architecture of the simple square volumes of the rest of the AUTH buildings. Together with the Observatory, which is located directly opposite, they are the most recognizable buildings on the Aristotle University campus, but also landmarks in the wider area of Thessaloniki.
In the “Vasilios Kyriazopoulos” amphitheater of the Meteoroscope, the inauguration took place today for the completion of the renovation projects of the two emblematic buildings. The professor of the Department of Geology Prodromos Zanis and the professor of the Department of Physics Nikolaos Stergioulas undertook to guide the attendees on a historical walk from the foundation of the buildings, their journey through time, the stations to the great research achievements of the AUTH people who worked through the their walls, walls that have tried to resist the wear and tear of time and today after renovation welcome the new generation of researchers.
The opening of the renovated Observatory and Observatory was made by the rector of AUTH, professor Charalambos Feidas, while the event was welcomed by the dean of the Faculty of Science, professor Nikolaos Kantiranis, the president of the Department of Geology, professor Konstantinos Vouvalidis, and the president of the Department of Physics, professor Alexandra Ioannidou .
The renovation
The renovation projects of the two buildings were completed in July 2024 and highlight their special features within the central campus of AUTH, while at the same time offering new possibilities for education and research in two cutting-edge fields.
The project “Upgrading and modernization of the Observatory and Observatory buildings, within the scientific, cultural, environmental park of the University of Athens”, with a budget of 477,203.56 euros, was financed through the operational program “Transport Infrastructure, Environment and Sustainable Development” of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy. The works carried out include the replacement of external frames and glazing, the restoration of internal frames, electromechanical works, replacement and installation of false ceilings, restoration of local damage to reinforced concrete elements, restoration of floors, renovation of colors and restoration of damages and finally waterproofing of roofs.
“It is a special day for our University and for me, to inaugurate one of the four emblematic projects launched by the previous Rector Authorities, the then Rector Nikos Papaioannou and myself, from the position I held then, of the Vice Rector of Financial Planning and Development with responsibility and in technical projects and infrastructures. One of the emblematic projects we launched 3-4 years ago was the upgrade and modernization of the Meteorological Observatory and the Observatory, the energy upgrade of the glass building of the School of Positive Sciences, the energy upgrade of the new building of the Faculty of Philosophy, a project which it is now the development and integration of the project of the integration of the libraries of the School of Positive Sciences, which is being completed this time period”, said Mr. Feidas.
He pointed out that the particularly modern, innovative and daring character of the buildings of the Meteoroscope and the Observatory make them important landmarks that have shaped the urban character of Thessaloniki as well.
“The Meteorological Observatory is the most aesthetically pleasing building we have on the Campus, which refers to the Rotunda and was differentiated from the architecture of the other buildings of that time”, noted Mr. Feidas, while regarding the Laboratory of Meteorology and Climatology he pointed out that it is “one of the older laboratories of our university with a significant contribution to education and research, in weather and climate issues as well as social contribution, as it is a point of reference for issues throughout Greece”.
Regarding the Observatory building, which was built a few years later and completed in 1962, Mr. Feidas said that “it is characterized by high functionality and elegance and is the only one of its kind”, while it houses the field of Astrophysics and Astronomy, a field which, as he emphasized “has contributed to the development of astronomy in Greece and to the training of many generations of astronomers and astrophysicists”.
The Meteorological Observatory
The Meteorological Observatory as an academic entity started in 1929 – a few years after the establishment of the University of Thessaloniki, as a Laboratory of Meteorology and Climatology. Today it houses the Department of Meteorology and Climatology of the Department of Geology and the Laboratory of Meteorology and Climatology.
The frame of the cylindrical building was made of reinforced concrete, while externally it is covered with bare stonework. The creative utilization of the geometric limitations of the circular floor plan guided the elaborate functional and typological organization of the spaces. The mural that exists today in the vestibule of the ground floor is a copy of an original work (2.80 x 6.40) by one of the most recognizable Greek painters, Spyros Vassiliou. With the earthquakes of 78 there were damages and cracks in the fresco, which was redone afterwards.
The Observatory
The AUTH Observatory building was completed in 1962, designed by one of Greece’s best-known architects, Patroklos Karatinos, who also designed other campus buildings. The building is the only one of its kind in Northern Greece and houses the Department of Astrophysics-Astronomy and Engineering which is under the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Science.
The Astronomy Laboratory was founded in 1943 (Government Gazette A 168) and its first director was the astronomer Ioannis Xanthakis. Along the way, a 20 cm dioptric telescope was acquired – it is the one that still works today – which came from Paris for 700,000 drachmas, while the Dome was also acquired, however, as the Observatory had not yet been built, they were initially stored in the premises of the old Philosophical School .
In 1957 the construction of the Observatory building started and the design was to house the astronomers and students, but also to provide access to the Dome of the observatory. In the period 1956-61, while the building was under construction, the members of the Astronomy Laboratory were accommodated in the building of the Meteorological Observatory. The inauguration of the Observatory took place in 1961, while later a radio telescope was added to its roof by Ioannis Seiradakis, whose name today bears the Dome, in his memory, honoring his emblematic work in the development of the field of Astrophysics.
The photos were obtained from APE
Source: Skai
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