The library has two buildings. Theophil von Hansen designed the Vallianeion Megaron on Panepistimiou Street, and Ernst Ziller supervised construction. The brothers Panagis, Marinos and Andreas Vallianos funded it. The foundation stone was laid on March 16, 1888, and the library moved in in 1903. The article calls it neoclassical marble, and it now houses the Newspapers Collection.
Renzo Piano designed the modern building, funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and donated to the Greek state. Work began in 2012, with completion due in 2016, and the bulk of the library moved in 2018. The infobox gives 2017.
It has about 237,000 square feet (22,000 m²) in twin buildings on a 49-acre (20-hectare) seafront site, a former racetrack. A central plaza surrounds a 98-foot (30 m) wide seawater channel.
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