Place of education in expression in the municipality of ARGOSTOLI 

music - dance - visual arts - theater - cinema - multimedia

A building for the education of young women and men in expression was studied and designed. Multiple spaces were organized connected and isolated according to the daily and seasonal needs for the municipal enterprise of Culture, Leisure, Entertainment. The plot has an area of 847 sq.m. The main contraints that defined the direction of the study were the current laws about building construction and climatic conditions in the area.

The floor plan of each level is organized - held in three cores of functions that allow both the unimpeded movement and the easy exclusion of teaching - presentation spaces with sliding dividing surfaces. The plastic - aesthetic study of the shell is a result of the decision to protect the building from overheating, therefore the unnecessary energy consumption, following the proposal - directive of the European Commission for zero energy footprint of the buildings.

The building rotates by 4 degrees so that the narrow sloping side of the roof faces directly south for the highest possible energy harvest from the sun. The structural frame, as shown in the floor plans, runs through the building in height without torsion.

The outdoor area surrounding the building has been specially studied so that certain public activities (concerts, speeches, screenings) can be watched by a larger audience without hindrance. The planting was selected so that in a short period of time it would produce clusters of shady pockets that allow staying during the hot days and the intense sunshine, regardless of the season.

Inside the building, wooden sound - absorbing surfaces were studied - proposed to reduce the sound return during lessons. The gable roof receives a range of gentle technological systems for the passive supply of indoor spaces with sunlight. The living rooms and the furniture as well as the lighting, inside and outside the concert - lecture space, were designed, in order to attract continuously, day and night, the inhabitants of the surrounding houses and the district, as an extension of their courtyards.