Client / Sponsor: Athanasios and Marina Martinos Foundation
Owner: Büyükada Panagia, Ayios Dimitrios and Profitis Ilias Greek Orthodox Church and School Foundation (Metropolis of the Princes’ Islands)
Architect: Lera Mimarlık (survey, restitution and restoration design)
Structural Design: KMB Mühendislik
Contractor: VASPO İnşaat
Project Management (PMO & PMC): Penelis Consulting Engineers S.A., on behalf of the Athanasios and Marina Martinos Foundation
Location: Büyükada (Pringkipos), Adalar, Istanbul, Turkey

Rebuilt in masonry in 1914 after a fire destroyed its timber predecessor, the Greek (Rum) Elementary School of Pringkipos (Büyükada) stands next to the Church of Ayios Dimitrios on the largest of the Princes’ Islands. The four-level building – basement, two main floors and a partial second floor under a timber roof – served the island’s Greek community until 1999, when damage from the Kocaeli earthquake forced it to close. Registered as a Group 1 monument, it stood empty for two decades.

With the sponsorship of the Athanasios and Marina Martinos Foundation, the building is being restored and converted into a cultural centre for the Metropolis of the Princes’ Islands, with a multi-purpose hall and stage, library, museum room, offices and guest rooms. The restoration design, based on a laser-scan survey and a restitution study of the 1914 and 1949 phases, was approved by the Istanbul Heritage Council. Works also include a new timber bell tower for Ayios Dimitrios.

Penelis Consulting Engineers acts as Project Management Office and Project Management Consultant (PMO & PMC) on behalf of the Foundation. The firm prepared the tender documents, ran contractor selection and has administered the NEC4 construction contract as Project Manager since works started at the end of 2023.

Project management scope

• Request for proposal, bill of quantities and bid evaluation for the lump-sum works contract
• Contract administration under the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Short Contract
• Monthly progress assessment and payment certification
• Review and pricing of variations and additional works
• Regular site inspections and progress reporting to the Foundation

Structural and restoration works

• Jet-grout ground improvement under the foundations, which sit on artificial fill, and a drainage system around the building
• Repair of cracked rubble and brick masonry by injection, stitching and rebuilding, with bidirectional glass-fibre textile reinforcement of the load-bearing walls
• Strengthening of masonry piers and a new perimeter ring beam at roof level
• Repair or replacement of the corroded steel-beam jack-arch floors with new steel and reinforced concrete slabs
• Restoration of the timber roof with Marseille tiles, the facades, and the original timber windows and doors
• New lift cores, heating, VRF air-conditioning and full electrical and fire-detection systems

Structural interventions were completed in 2025 and finishing works continued into 2026. The restored school brings a key landmark of the island’s Greek heritage back into community use.

Before restoration

Structural strengthening

The restored school