In1912 the Italian army occupied the island of Leros and the area of Lakki became the center of Italian urban planning project for the mastery of the Levant. After the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) the Italians built the G. Rossetti air base in the area of Lepida, which pointed to the planning of the new town of Porto Lago (Lakki).
The air base spreads in the area of Lepida and Agios Georgios, where the Italian barracks stands. It was built between 1934 and 1936 and designed according to Italian rationalism standards.
In 1947 the Dodecanese appended to the Greek domain and the buildings of the air base lapsed to the Greek state’s property. From 1949 to 1960 the Italian barracks lodged the “Royal Technique School” –school for the “edification” of young rebels and orphans because of the civil war. At the fifties the Barracks lodged the mental clinic and in 1967 became prison camp for detainees because of the dictatorship.
This design project points out the reuse of the building and its success to a memorial dedicated to the detainees. It’s recommended the restoration of the barracks and its interior modulation with a new glass construction.