The department of Mechanic Computers and Networks of the University of Thessaly, in the city of Volos accepted its first students in the academic year 2000-2001. Since then, the department is located in a block of flats in the centre of the city, in the region of Saint Nikolao’s church that fails to meet the requirements of modern education and offer access to the particular infrastructure required by the subject matter of the Department. Since September 2003, the Department also offers a Postgraduate Program of Studies which is located in a different building in Iasonos Street.
The new building in which the Department will be moved will be designed according to the needs of the department and will be situated in the University Campus in Pedion Areos, where 5 departments of the Faculty of Engineering already function. To cover the current and future operational needs of the Department, as it is expected to accept more students every year, and respond to the lengthy procedures necessary to acquire land in the area, the building will be constructed in two phases.
The first phase of construction will take place in the triangle of Sekeri, Athens and Cheyden streets (plant yards of the Municipality of Volos) and the second phase in the triangle of Cheyden, Alamanas and Athens streets.
The object of this thesis is the design of the new building for the Department in the first phase of construction, while taking into consideration the smooth extension of the building in the second phase of growth.
The design approach of the subject was actually influenced by the subject matter of the Department itself. The internal architectural structure of computers and the continuous flow of information through their networks, was initially expressed through sketches that led in a sequence of models. The continuous flow of information in the interior of computers is translated into a continuous flow of movements through the spaces of building.
In brief, the building program includes common spaces (registrar’s, auditoriums, classrooms, a library, spaces for meetings and a coffee bar), scientific, administrative and technical personnel office spaces, laboratories, spaces for seminars and meetings, separate offices for each Department, a centre of networks for the entire University of Thessaly, mechanical installations and finally an underground parking area.