Equestrian center in Thessaloniki

Students: Velli Eva, Kampani Marialena
Supervisors: G.Papakostas , J.Tsoukalas
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki-Faculty of engineering
Presentation date: July 2014

The project is about the design of a section of the coastline of eastern Thessaloniki and specifically in Mikra in Kalamaria. The site of interest is a section of the waterfront with an area of 130 acres, located at the node between the city and its future extension. It is bounded by construction and natural elements that define its nature and existence. The access in the area is from the waterfront promenade and smaller roads vertical to it, both of which form part of the orthogonal city plan. The vegetation in the area is dense with large green areas. However, the lack of urban design creates an urban area without identity. The residential density is almost zero, as the buildings are limited to the sporting activities of Mikra and the equestrian center of Northern Greece (IOBE), the oldest equestrian center in Thessaloniki. The intervention area has a mild relief with no particular inclination and receives a large amount of solar energy during the winter and summer solstice . The most exposure to the sun is during the evening hours , while exposure to the daily radiation is continuous because of the mild slope . The winds in the area are strong due to the presence of northern winds and the sea breeze combined with the limited built environment.

In order for the area to become part of the city and the beginning of its future expansion, our basic gesture was to design a grid system of main and secondary paths, according to which different functional entities are formed (accommodation, forest, recreation, equestrian activities). Because of the linearity of the waterfront, paths in higher level from the ground were designed, that also integrate all the entities.

The goal from the beginning was the creation of a sports and leisure retreat with daily traffic of citizens and visitors of the city providing new qualities of both public and most private places.

_accommodation area
The first functional module is the accommodation area. It is a residential complex in the water [bungalows], a grid of empty and built spaces, organized in two levels, that gives the visitor the feeling of floating or hovering, in case. The main characteristics of the bungalows are the flexibility, the freedom of movement, the transparency, the exposure in the south and the panoramic skyline views in the sea. More specifically , 20 clusters got embedded in a network of routes , 20 prefabricated flexible blocks of metal and glass with different typology. Necessary was also a marina for guests' yachts.

_parkland
The second module, the green zone, is a parkland that is created as the filter between the public (sport fields) and the private spaces (bungalows). It is about an invasion of nature in the heart of the design to broaden the public space to the liquid natural element . Different densities and qualities of green create an environment that is more like country than city.

_recreation
In the center of the design is the equestrian center building with view over the open field, with its shading system, that is a main element of the design, and the horizon. This is a metal grid lined with wooden planks [ north -south direction ] and glass for protection from the rain , which was studied in order to shade sufficiently throughout the day the 3,200 sq.m. pitch with a capacity of one thousand people.

_equestrian activities
The last module, is that of the equestrian activities, with stalls and closed field that are organized around open training fields and other landscape configurations. In this zone, a second largest marina was created for the horse transport vessels, mainly in times of games.