VISIT OF THE INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS AT THE PATRIARCHATE
On the morning of Sunday the 26th December 2016 / 8th January 2017, the Interdisciplinary Research Group of the National Technical University of Athens visited the Patriarchate.
The Interdisciplinary Research Group, headed by the Professor of the National Technical University of Athens, Mrs Antonia Moropoulou, consisted by Professor Emeritus of the NTUA School of Civil Engineering, Mr Pavlos Marinos, Associate Professor of the Section of Geotechnical Engineering of Civil Engineering School, Mr Michael Kavvadas, Assistant Professor of the Section of Structural Engineering of Civil Engineering School, Mr Charalambos Mouzakis, with the participation of Dr. Kyriakos Lampropoulos, Special Teaching Staff of the Section of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr. Ekaterini Delegou, Special Teaching Staff of the Section of Materials Science and Engineering, and NTUA PhD Candidate, Mrs Elisavet Tsilimantou, Rural and Surveying Engineer.
The above mentioned NTUA Interdisciplinary Research Group elaborated these days an on-site visit for the interdisciplinary documentation and evaluation of the current situation of the underground system in the Rotunda at the All-Holy Church of Resurrection.
It is noted that during the Steering Committee and Project’s Owner Committee meeting on Friday 3rd/16th December 2016, NTUA Professor, Mrs Antonia Moropoulou, had presented to the Leaders of the Three Communities, the serious problems that have been identified and burden the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule with rising humidity phenomena due to the drainage of rain water, as well as the waste water sewage system without appropriate facilities. In parallel, serious corrosion and decay problems have been identified on the metal pillars that have been placed for the last fifty years, supporting the underground tunnels, due to the continuous underground archaeological excavations.
A scientific group from the Section of Topography of the NTUA School of Rural and Surveying Engineering is expected today, for the completion of the Geometric Documentation, consisting by Professor Andreas Georgopoulos, Associate Professor Georgios Pantazis, Associate Professor Evangelia Lamprou, Mrs Sofia Soile, Laboratory Technical Staff, and Mrs Sevasti Tapinaki, Laboratory Technical Staff.
The Interdisciplinary Research Group of the National Technical University of Athens has been systematically present to scientifically support the ongoing works of the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule, which is expected to be completed with the delivery of the project on the 22nd March 2017.
Also present during the visit were the Architect of the Technical Bureau of the All-Holy Church of Resurrection, Dr. Theodosios Mitropoulos, the technical collaborator of the Interdisciplinary Research Group for the support of the project’s PC Lab, Mr Ioannis Mountrichas, three undergraduate students of the NTUA School of Chemical Engineering, Mrs Aikaterini Galata, Mrs Mirto Kalofonou and Mrs Panayiota Stamatoyianni, who have undertaken to elaborate a relevant laboratory term project in the Direction of “Materials”, the personnel of the Conservation Laboratory of the project, Mr Theodoros Mavridis, Mr Michael Troullinos, Mrs Konstantina Karathanou, Mr Ioannis Andritsopoulos, Mr Georgios Palamaris, Mrs Amalia Troullinou and Mrs Argiro Troullinou, as well as the Restorers Team, consisted by the Team Leader, Mr Vasilis Zafeiris, Mr Christos Theodorakis, Mr Athanasios Karydis, Mr Petros Chaloftis and Mr Georgios Anastasiadis.
They were welcomed by His Beatituted, Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in the presence of the Elder Secretary-General, Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, and the Assistant Dragoman, Archimandrite Mathew.
In the framework of this meeting, His Beatitude welcomed the fact that the NTUA Interdisciplinary Research Group accelerates the proper arrangement of the sewage and drainage underground system, with the design of the necessary interventions to regulate the humidity and support the Holy Aedicule underground system, in order to ensure the sustainability of the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule.
His Beatitude underlined that the Leaders of the Three Communities have taken into account the above mentioned serious problems, presented during the Steering Committee and the Project’s Owner Committee on the 3rd/16th of December 2016, and the need for the documentation and evaluation of the conditions of the underground system at the Rotunda, to ensure the sustainability of the restoration project of the Holy Aedicule, which will be completed in March 2017. His Beatitude underlined that the cooperation between the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the National Technical University has created new scientific findings in the Protection of Monuments in the international scientific arena and is becoming a strategic alliance.
Professor of NTUA, Mrs. Antonia Moropoulou, responding to His Beatitude, as the Chief Scientific Supervisor of the project of the restoration of the Holy Aedicule, highlighted that the Interdisciplinary Group and colleagues from the National Technical University of Athens, as well as the Greek crew working on the project, feel the honor and responsibility of the confidence of His Beatitude, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the Leaders of the Three Communities, and are working to respond to it.
From the Secretariat-General
httpv://youtu.be/zxdUbPLeTeY