Located 10 km south of Xanthi, a city of 60.000, in the middle of a fertile horizontal plane of agricultural properties, stands with a distinctive presence in the environment, by creating an urban fragment, a tight, whole new community.
Project is consisted of seven different buildings, (High School, Elementary School, Kindergarten, Main Library, Auditorium, Administration, Laboratories). Most of them are placed around an urban hardscaped 35m. x 35m. square that acts as a unifying element for all surmounting buildings. The Plaza also provides the necessary breathing void, inside building masses. Complex covers 6.200 sq.m. of enclosed and roofed outdoor spaces, built on a 67.000 sq.m. site, and planned to shelter a total of 500 students. Alongside the 25 classrooms, it contains 6 labs, 2 libraries, multiple purpose halls and spaces, dinning hall, café, and outdoor athletic facilities (basketball, volleyball, tennis courts and a soccer field) in the distant corner of the site.
Its architecture reflects the philosophy of a kind of education where an open and friendly to students and teachers, built and natural environment, acts itself as an educational tool, influencing them positively every day. Its design clarity is motivated by that goal, creating a serene, simple and recognizable context, that embodies essential architectural elements (concrete walls, columns, color, glass surfaces), in balanced amounts. On the other hand, with its generous, bright, daylit indoor and outdoor spaces and uninterrupted views to the horizon, users become aware of the particular qualities of architecture.
Simple bioclimatic principles have been applied from the very first moves of the design process. All different schools have their own separate south classrooms, south, west and east planted yards (plantation will create microclimatic conditions) and natural ventilation. Two - storey buildings on the north side protect all south outdoor spaces from local harsh winds. Terraces can accommodate over 3.000 sq.m. of photovoltaic panels as a part of a planned investment in the future.
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Dimitris Antoniou, Architect, NTUA, MA, USC
Helen Katsoufis, Architect, NTUA, MA, USC
Angela Dagla, Architect, U of Patras
Daisy Ditsa, Architect, NTUA
Manolis Giannoulakis, Civil Engineer, DUTH
George Christofilis, Mech. Engineer, NTUA