THE ART CONTAINER, D. DASKALOPOULOS ARTS BUILDING, ATHENS, GREECE



DESCRIPTION

THE ART CONTAINER

BE AN ENABLER; A CONNECTOR
The plot of D. Daskalopoulos Arts Building is located in the heart of the Campus of Athens College. Instead of an iconic imposition, we propose a link between the urban entrance and the sport fields with the picturesque green park- a link between urbanity and nature through culture. The circulation zone is positioned in the urban side offering a unique view of all the workshops to the forest.   
BE CONTEMPORARY
The D. Daskalopoulos Arts Building will function as a contemporary building devoted to arts and the aim is to be positioned in the map of the art institutions around the world which is achieved though the contemporary character of architecture and the materiality. Moreover, the exhibition hall is a square space of 7m height which could accommodate any kind of exhibition layout and give freedom to curators.
BE INTIMATE
Key point of the design is to offer an environment which users will feel familiar with and be able to inhabit it. The proposal is aiming to achieve this through the materiality as we propose materials which people are familiar with and they lead to an informal atmosphere. 


INFORMATION

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Athens, Greece
Athens College
2022
Competition Entry
Civic Building
5.000m2
ANAGRAM A-U (Konstantina Lola, Simos Makaronas, Marina kounavi)
GRUPPA (Jan Kudlička, Anne-Sereine Tremblay, Maria Karatsiompani)  
Architectural Consultant: Nikos Kazeros

Paolo Mossa Idra
GKA engineers



SEEKING FOR HONESTY & INFORMALITY
The D. Daskalopoulos Arts Building is an art container which targets to honesty, simplicity and informality. The circulation cores and the secondary program which traditionally are hidden in the center of a building and create borders are located in the periphery of it as plug-ins which support the function of the building and this process is visible to the encounter. Decision which offers flexibility, efficiency and transparency through the building. It is proposed a 3 level bar 63x13m divided in 8 grids.
MEET ENCOUNTERS
The interior podium offers a direct connection of the ground floor with the 2nd floor which is programmatic. Its size propose a space which can function as a meeting place for visitors, teachers or students which could support in different moments of the day the needs of the users. It could be used as an open air amphitheater, a lunch space, a reading zone or a break zone.

IDEAS ARE CREATING IN THE CORRIDORS
The podium and the programmatic corridor in the entrance side of the building aim to increase the friction between the users and enable a constant intercourse. The current trend in terms of design is to increase the interaction of people and the size of common spaces. An example in this direction is the New Way of Working which companies like google, amazon, apple etc develop.



BE INDEPENDENT
The proportions of the proposed building and the position of the circulation cores in the periphery allows the maximum independence of the different programs. The exhibition, the library, the auditorium, the workshops and the parking can work simultaneously but also, independently with different access. The composition results in a building which can function 24h independently without deteriorating the privacy of the different functions


BE FLEXIBLE
The trends and the means are constantly changing with a rapid rhythm. The proposal targets to achieve the maximum flexibility in order to be always possible to adapt the building and meet the demands. Environmental spatial resilience are the key points in terms of architectural and engineering solutions.