Experimental educational complex in Tagarades, Thessaloniki

Students: Papathanasiou Maximi, Fotos Zacharias
Supervisors: S. Zafeiropoulos, Th. Tosca
ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY - POLYTECHNIC FACULTY - DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING
Presentation date: 30/06/2010

Short Description
The project is about an educational community designed as a micrography of a real community. From the beginning the main goal was to create a cosy multi-sensory environment, designed for the children's proportions and needs. This sensitive micro-world exceeds the classic perception of the school building in many ways (such as circulation, placement of the different functions, schedules). The "classroom" gets now a new perception, while new themes are imported from the structure and function of the contemporary city.

Description
Our research focuses on the seek for a contemporary architectural form that would combine a set of primary and secondary circulation axes, squares, outdoor and indoor spaces, green areas and areas for outdoor play, thus creating a mirco-world, a sensitive public school space with a domestic life of its own.

We chose to apply this school model in Tagarades, Thessaloniki, because of the low building activity and low building heights in the area. We decided that under these circumstances, it is possible for one to locate the eligible "neighborhood feeling".

Our school building complex has the form of an "Educational Community". This community possesses characteristics of a real society and exceeds the classic perception for the school building.

We chose to split the building volumes to one and two-story buildings. These separate volumes are placed around a gathering and socialization area, our "square".

We created motivations for our students through a multi-sensory environment with small cozy spaces, based on the children's size, proportions and psychology. The classroom gets a new perception as it comes closer to the natural environment.

Our building program separates the educational procedure in two major parts. The farther thematic groups of the second major part are separated in autonomous buildings with different studying spaces inside.

We focused on natural lightning which enters our buildings through big windows and skylights oriented to the north. We created the right conditions for natural air circulation; rainwater harvesting and we recommended the placement of P-V panels on the oblique roofs.

We made a full color study for our school complex using chromatic palettes. These palettes diverse form space to space according to the need of each area. The indoor spaces are painted pal tones of green and violet. Natural materials such as timber and yellow brick cladding are used on the exterior walls, framed by achromatic tones of green.