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Aristodimos Komninos

Aristodimos Komninos

Athens, GR

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Perspective Aspectof the Administration Wing and the Entrance
Perspective Aspectof the Administration Wing and the Entrance
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Under One Roof - Bioclimatic European School in Crete

Our design proposal is driven by the following objectives:
>Design a school that represents the European spirit by connecting all students from different age levels into one entity, while allowing each school to exist individually
>Provide environmental protection and energy efficiency
We create four individual buildings to express the different programmatic functions and establish clear identities.
We use the principle of a push-pull unit where each unit is a classroom/playroom typology to design individual classrooms that can shift based on the landscape morphology. Pairs of units can be connected by small living rooms that provide both space for socializing and circulation.
We unite the four buildings by a single canopy that expresses the multicultural unity, while providing environmental protection by shading the slabs and preventing the buildings from thermal loads
By hovering the canopy over the four buildings we create a landscape between the terraces of the buildings and the roof that maximizes landscape occupancy and provides social open-air space.
We place the four buildings in a square format formulating a central courtyard while each building creates an individual private courtyard
Pathways along the diagonals connect the central piazza to the landscape and sport fields while providing two entries from the road, one for pedestrians and one for school buses and emergency vehicles inside the courtyard. Pathways across the square sides provide entrances to the schools, penetrate them and connect to the private courtyards
Placement of building in the plot
Placing the square figure ground parallel to the sides of the site leaves no space for the courtyards. By rotating the square figure ground by 45 degrees we create spacious courtyards between the plot sides and the corners of the site

Integration with the landscape topography
We create two natural pits for the elementary and the primary schools while leaving the space down the valley for the secondary
Since the landscape is a valley we create a pitched tessellated roof that climbs the hills

 
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Status: Competition Entry
Location: Chánia, GR
My Role: Author
Additional Credits: Dimitris Papanikolaou

 
Figure Ground
Figure Ground
Junior High Wing
Junior High Wing
Section Looking North
Section Looking North