Hub and pavilion for new architects and artists

Student: Papaefthymiou Panagiota
Supervisor: Issaias Demetrios
Consultant: Caradimas Constantinos
National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture
Presentation Date: July 2015

 

CURRENT SITUATION
The subject selected was triggered by the observation  of a continuous emergence of more and more incubators for startups, mostly related to new technologies and entrepreneurship.

THE OCCASION
A lack of a similar facility for new architects and artists is observed. Consequently, the transitional period (spatial and functional) between the academic environment and the workplace, for occupations on arts and architecture, is missing.

THE PROPOSAL
The creation of an area which is mainly aimed at young graduates of schools related to the arts and architecture is proposed.

An important element in the operation of this facility, is the provision of a personal space-office-studio to each user as well as the existence of meeting spaces for both different users and external factors.

Another important aspiration was to create a multiplex, where the users will be able to expose the work in exhibition or lecture form and will be given the opportunity to get in contact with enterprises, galleries or architectural offices (open studio).

 

 

In a relatively short radius around the selected site, spaces with related actions and functions exist. All these actions could constitute a network of cooperation with the designed building.

The lot, which is located on Piraios Street and very close to Technopolis, was chosen so that the building is placed on a main axis of the city, which besides historical, has also been characterized as a cultural one.

Simultaneously, the site lies almost midway between the NTUA School of Architecture and the School of Fine Arts, and on the route connecting these schools. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning the proximity of the lot to the underground station of Kerameikos and to numerous events and attractions that operate as a magnet to artists, architects and all citizens of Athens.

There is also a variety of important landmarks near the lot, such as the archaeological site of Kerameikos, Technopolis, the IME, the Benaki Museum, the Cultural Centre Melina Mercouri etc.

 

 

As far as uses are concerned, a great variety is observed due to the mix of new uses (recreation, culture, office buildings) to former ones (trade, industry and housing) that have given the region the industrial atmosphere that exudes today. In the map above we can perceive the very short distance between the selected site and Technopolis and therefore the possibility of developing a strong connection between them.

 

 

By observing the area around the selected plot, we can see a great variety in the morphology of the urban tissue. Free spaces arise between the densely built blocks. Major roads such as the Piraios Street and Konstantinopoleos Street are adjacent to very narrow streets with little traffic. Still, we see newly built high-rise buildings next to old buildings of low height.

 

 

THE IDEA
The main idea consists of an extension of Iakchou Street through the plot and the intersection of this route with Piraios Street. As a result, a cut is created that divide the lot and crosses it throughout. That slit, constitutes a public movement and turns the outdoor area into a public square with direct access and visual contact both to Peiraios Street and Technopolis.

The division of the site and the different spatial needs of the uses proposed, i.e. personal workspaces and "open" exhibition spaces, led to the creation of two building volumes which are connected with each other through a bridge. The two volumes of concrete are also designed differently.

More specifically, the volume of the office building is a building that operates as a machine, is characterized by regularity and its form resembles a beam.

The building that houses the exhibitions has a dynamic form and operates as a showcase for passers by, inviting them inside. Thus, it is working as an exhibition pavilion. Also, the volumes are placed in order to achieve the completion of the block on Peiraios Street with the pavilion volume, while the high volume recedes from the low height buildings and rests on the blind wall of the plot. The movements are distinguished from the concrete buildings with a metal structure that connects them.

VARIABILITY

An important component is the variability of spaces in two buildings.

At the Office Building:

There is the possibility of adding or removing the dividing panels in the workplace resulting in complete integration or fragmentation of the working space.

At the Pavilion:

A typical layout of panels to the exhibition levels is combined with guides on the floor so continuous changes in the layout of the space can be achieved.

ELEVATIONS

The elevations of the two buildings are designed taking into consideration the needed uses and privacy.

At the Office Building:

The volume consists of a heavy-closed shell with vertical openings like slits in the studios, providing a view of the inner square, while curtain walls offer an open view in common rooms.

At the Pavilion:

It is a showcase to Peiraios Street and allows the passers by to see inside through large curtain walls. The regularity of the elevation is split, with the addition of diagonal light beams so that the elevation attracts the eye of pedestrians and the eye of passers by car as well. The velocity of movement combined with the diagonal beams transfuse drama to the construction while the sculpturesque of the elevation is also highlighted.

 

 

Finally, there is an attempt to resolve the metal structure that operates as a bridge which distributes the movements and integrates the two buildings.