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Alexandreion Melathron, Palais des Sports

The architectural design of Alexandreion Melathron (Palais des Sports) is a direct reference to the standards of ancient theatres and conservatories.

  1. Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )


    1960 Beginning of construction.

    1966 Completed and inaugurated by King Konstantinos. It was named "Alexandreion Melathron of Thessaloniki".

    2004 Renovated for the Athens Olympics.

  2. Ottoman era (1453- 1912)


  3. Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)


  4. Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)


  5. Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)


  6. Classical era (478-323 BC)


  7. Archaic era (800-479 BC)


  8. Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)


  9. Prehistory (-1100 BC)


What I can see

This building by architect Petros Tzanetos is characteristic for its circular shape and the structurally challenging large roof in a dome shape. The architectural design is a direct reference to the standards of ancient theatres and conservatories and the external stairs lend solidity to this “Modern Rotunda“. It is located within the area of TIF. During its renovation for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the facades, spectators’ moving areas and locker rooms were reconstructed, while technical equipment and lighting was replaced with the latest technology. The reconstruction resulted in a reduction of the initial capacity of 5,576 to about 4,800 seats. Furthermore, even though the building is circular, internal platforms are horseshoe-shaped because of an auxiliary indoor hall located behind one of the baskets in the central arena.

What I can't see

Initially named the “National Indoor Arena in Thessaloniki”, this building was eventually renamed to “Alexandreion Athletic Melathron of Thessaloniki”. The French construction company that built it has also build the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon. Because of the architectural similarities between the two buildings, which have an almost identical capacity and roof, the Alexandreio Melathron has been nicknamed “Palais des Sports”. It initially hosted basketball and volleyball games by Thessaloniki-based teams, until most of them moved to their own facilities. The building belongs to the Ministry of Culture and the General Secretariat of Sports and is now home to one of the largest sports teams in the city. In 2013, the main hall was named “Nikos Galis”, in honour of Greece’s star basketball player. This was the largest indoor stadium in the country until 1985, when the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Athens was constructed. Finally, it has hosted several Greek and European cup finals and it frequently hosts cultural events.

Info

  • Address: TIF

Bibliography

Alexandreio Melathro, (d.u.), Το Αλεξάνδρειο Αθλητικό Μέλαθρον σας καλωσορίζει, [Alexandreio Melathron welcomes you]

http://web.archive.org/web/20111219123345/http://www.alexandreiomelathron.gr/

Last visit 16/9/2014

Kalogirou Ν., Paka Α., Tellios Τ., Tzaka Α., (2014), Η προστασία του μοντέρνου αστικού τοπίου. Μια διερεύνηση της ανάπλασης του χώρου της ΔΕΘ στη Θεσσαλονίκη, [The protection of modern urban landscape. An examination of TIF regeneration in Thessaloniki], in Vitopoulou Α., Karadimou- Gerolympou Α., Tournikiotis P., (επ.), (2014), Η ελληνική πόλη και η πολεοδομία του μοντέρνου, [The greek city and modern urban planning], do.co.mo.mo, v.5, Futura, Benaki Museum, NTUA 

Stadia.gr, (d.u.), Αλεξάνδρειο Μέλαθρο, [Alexandreio Melathron]

http://www.stadia.gr/alexandrio/alexandrio-gr.html

Last visit 16/9/2014