Archives

The topic of my master thesis is the redevelopment of an area almost 1000,000 m2 that is created at the point where the river Agiamoniotis bifurcates, in Trikala, behind the “Mill of Matsopoulos”. The “Mill of Matsopoulos” is one of the most important monuments of Industrial Heritage, attracting thousands of visitors the last two years, from all over Greece, as every Christmas it transforms to “The Mill of Elves”, providing free activities for children. The object of the study is the aesthetic, functional and ecological upgrading of the main landscape around the mill , and its conversion to a public recreation area, that will attract the residents. So, the design goals of the proposal are: ecological improvement-river restoration-> active wetland, connecting the area with its past and history, direct and easy access, interactive character.

The main idea arose from the topography, that reminds of a hollow mark of a waterdrop, because on the one side, there is a strong difference in height and on the other dense and voluminous vegetation, that gradually dilutes as it gets closer to the island. So the island is reorganized according to three “water drops’’. The first reflects the moment, the drop enters the “water”- ground , creating a hollow, while lifting “water” around it. In this section there is an amphitheater, the stage is on the lower level (hollow) and the “water that is lifted“ creates on the one side plateaus, that are the seats for the spectators and on the the other side it creates a “back“ to the scene. In the second section, there is a “hollow waterdrop mark“ at moment that the drop has completely entered into the “water” – ground. Many levels have been formed in order to give this “dinted” impression. In the lower level there is an outdoor café, while the upper plateaus are ideal for tables and chairs. The last “waterdrop mark” is exactly about the timing right after the incorporation of the drop into the “water”-ground, where various mounds are created. There is a gardening workshop and the dikes around it are planted with special plants, acting both as a botanical garden for guests and as the ideal exercise ground for the students of the gardening workshop.

The ‘Hotel &spa resort’ studio was designed in collaboration with Anastasia Sioutopoulou and is located at the eastern waterfront of Thessaloniki. A small stream, that still exists, divides the area in two parts, a key for the designing procedure.

The complex is organized into two functional zones: A private zone (privacy of each room). A public zone (communal spaces to be used from the visitors and the residents of the resort). The form is characterized by four white minimal geometric masses with large openings. All the public spaces (restaurant, cafebar, conference room , reception, exhibition space) are organized into a unique volume, circling a central the marina.

The presence of the liquid element is dominant because of it and the sea, so every place with communal use in the hotel is placed close to it, on the ground level: In the southern part of the complex, we have a restaurant, a cafebar, the conference hall, an exhibition space as well as the Reception. On the northern part a spa center is located and its indoor pool has openable glazed units with view both to the marina and the sea. The spa center is is located in an appropriate distance from the hotel to ensure the privacy of each volume and a metallic bridge connects it with the main hotel volume. The height of the bridge allows small boats pass underneath, while pedestrians have a panoramic view of the mountain Olympus and Hortiatis in the horizon.

The project was based on our desire to utilize the view of the site to the fullest, giving to each room a unique view while ensuring natural light and ventilation to the whole complex. Therefore the rooms are developed in two building volumes: one that seizes the western view of the sea and Mount Olympus in the background, and one that overlooks the marina and the town to the north. Both volumes were raised from the ground by pillars to expand the visual field from the ground level.This way the design accomplishes a floating appeal to the upper level of the complex and secures the privacy that a pleasant stay should provide through the careful placement of rooms inside the area, while avoiding the low-rise development and the existence of a single overly – dominant volume.

The challenge in this project was to design a bus stop in a random point in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The location I chose for it, is Aristotle’s Square(at the height of the Metropoleos Str) because there is a large open space in the square directly overlooking the sea of Thermaikos.

The inspiration arose from the intriguing formations that may result due to a sea’s wave penetrating the place: a huge wave bursts onto the Square and jets of water form a shelter-bus stop. This is also how I came up with the name of this urban object: KYMA (means wave in Greek).It has a length of 6,50 meters, width 5,00 and its maximum height is 3,60m. The dimensions are intentionally larger than those of an average bus stop, firstly because the area has to serve a large number of people and mainly because the KYMA’s designing purpose, which was to work as an artistic intervention in the region and therefore the volume required it to be imposing and majestic.

KYMA is supported through six core rods of steel for durability and high strength.

Perpendicular to the main frame there will be further supporting elements arranged in a way so as to be paralleled with the game the water makes when bursting into a wave. As far as the lighting is concerned, there will be high efficiency LED at the beginning and at the end of each of the six basic supporting rods. On the base(start) of the KYMA, the light will lighten towards the side of the sea, in order to point out through the ground that this is the wave’s source. The lighting at the end of the object’s covered surface will point to the road of Metropoleos, showing the course the wave would have while dissolving. The voids between the steel rods will covered with sheets of energy reflective glass. Their shade will vary slightly between tones of grey. The darker ones will be put on the upper surface to make it infrared radiation impervious and reduce the corresponding solar one. The fact that the material is both transparent and has a variation in this color, associatively refers to reflections that the water makes through the sun during the wave.

The project’s objective was the creation of a residential “episode” for semi-permanent people – basic elements of the urban density.

Providing housing to such heterogeneous groups of people that “immigrate” from place to place – not in the context of alternative nomadism, but of social need – is the main goal that architectural design is challenged to achieve. An architectural design that becomes extreme, not to draw attention or to show off, but to cover the needs in question. So I chose to focus my project on the case of people left homeless either due to the economic crisis of that era and the social upheaval created because of this or due to war disasters, where cities where bombed and all housing forms where demolished. So, many people and even families were left homeless either because they were unable to cope with the expenses of their daily life or because of the totalitarian disasters.

Therefore this proposal concerns homeless people who want a decent place to stay and are willing to protect and take care of it. This project can be carried out in socially dead areas, like abandoned/destroyed buildings, uncovered open spaces between buildings, subways or beneath bridges.

So the project is about a foldable individual ‘chamber’ which is converted to a backpack. Each chamber may be made of inflatable membranes or 3m tetrapak (juice packaging material). It is perforated allowing adequate ventilation while the ends are sealed with laminated zippers. Throughout the folding edges of the backpack there are rubbers or plastic neurons in order to reinforce strength and flexibility. The homeless can catalyze in it at night, fold it together and continue their activities the morning after.

I put also under consideration the “extreme” circumstance, under which a whole family is left homeless and still in this case they would like to maintain their unity. So we are providing metal frames on the previously mentioned socially dead places, ready to be filled with surfaces of bags in order to create a larger private space. In this case the backpack – cocoon can be hung as a covered hammock for a person and even reach the point where the total amount of these offset backpack’s surfaces will cover the whole surface of the metal structure. If the family wants to catalyze longer the gaps between the metal structure can be complemented with boxes or pressurized cans in plywood form (as an extension of the garbage collection they possibly do).

The skeleton has a complex form with many edges in order to reflect the difficulties people have to face throughout their lives, though the use it offers is fully optimistic and encouraging to reach a brighter future with hard work and persistence. There are also climbing plants growing up on the main skeleton as a symbol of the life recovered and rebuilt.

This individual project was about a shelter on a private hypothetical land. I considered the use of the shelter as a secluded place to which one retires for meditation, peace, contemplation or privacy or as a place of escape from pursuit or from difficulties.

I chose a site close to the sea in order to parallel all the above to the mental getaway, the open horizon of the sea has to offer. As a consequence I wanted to give a changeable yet minimal form to the shelter, adapting to the visitors mood every time.

I came up with the idea of using vertical metal blinds all across its side facade, which have the following characteristic: They are rotatable and when open on the proper angle, they make an entrance to the shelter. The interplay of the different angles and the light/wind can give a unique feeling and sense to both the place and the visitor.

Other than that the shelter a plain geometric form with an exoskeleton structure, which was basically the extensions of the rotation mechanism of the blinds and some supporting columns.

The mechanism is the following: It is driven by a Somfy lT50 tubular motor. The motor drives an internally mounted 12.7mm marine grade s/s hex.axle via a reduction gearbox. Each individual blade is in turn driven by a precision engineered pivot gearbox. Both the top drive mechanism and the custom engineered bottom pivots sit within a 150mm x 75mm box section frame. Providing protection from the elements the 150mm x 75mm top and bottom frame also offers a visually pleasing scale alongside the large 800mm blades.