Portfolio Anna Oikonomou
Dissertation Thesis - Cultural Centre
2008- This project was about transforming an old prison buiding taking into account the surrounding green areas and an ancient temple. This section contains a Turkish temple constructed during the Byzantine era which is now being used as an exhibition and concert hall. Right next to it, there is the city’s old prison building, which has been abandoned and is now falling apart. This section of land constitutes one of the main hubs of the city, while at the same time encapsulates great architectural and historic interest.
What is very characteristic about this section of land is the intensity of the citizen’s activity, who tend to move around and through both the temple and the derelict prison building, which is also regarded as one of the main poles of touristic attraction of the city.
The aura of the temple and the aesthetic beauty of the green fields that surround the area come in contrast with the gaunt look of the old prison and the feelings of emptiness this abandoned space creates. The complexity and the diversity of the building’s identities and the way they interact in the space create two distinct zones :
Temple zone : -Intense mobility.
-Interactive relationships among the citizens
Prison zone: -Diminished motion.
-Untapped space.
Main objective of the research was to create an interconnection between these two zones. The initial idea and the basic aim of my architectural dissertation was to create a pole of attraction for the citizens in the exact area where the old prison is situated.
I wanted to create a space of interest for the people who would like to share their time between the area of the temple that is full of life and the isolated area of the former prison.
I designed a set of different routes that start from the building that housed the old prison and, through multiple junctions, these routes end at the point where the temple is now situated. This leads to an optical and virtual connection of these two spaces.
The old prison building is being replaced by a new high-end structure which nonetheless keeps some basic conception of the interior spaces and the floor plan of the old building.
The new building is going to be the city’s cultural center and has been designed to host lectures, art exhibitions and conferences. The surface with glass gives the impression of wrapping the inner steel infrastructure like a veil and offers a form of a building that is weightless.
A visual illusion of continuity among different spaces is also achieved, because the interior spaces are separated with glass dividers which enable the visitor to have a perspective of each elevation. From a structural point of view, the whole building gives the impression of floating in space. This is achieved through the extended use of glass material and the few number of beams and columns in the interior, which have been replaced by a specialized steel structure that frames the “skin” of the building, so that it does not require the presence of columns in the center of the structure.
Another objective was to create a visual continuity among the temple and the new building. I, hence, laid emphasis on the element of transparency rendering it the most important characteristic of the new structure and the new route. Every separate area inside the building is the continuity of another.
The glass façade is characterized by two great 7m high and 6m long openings.
These form the main entrance and exit of the cultural center. The glass canopy seems almost hollow in the inside and the structure integrates an open plan. Once the visitor is inside the building, he/she has a view of the temple almost from every side of the building.
The interior building plan incorporates a complexity of multiple use of spaces in an area of 4.400 square meters altogether: Amphitheater/Lobby area/Exhibition spaces/Library/Reading department Studios for painting,sculpting/Video art/performance studios/Bar-Restaurant.
As the visitor exits the building, a number of routes lead to the temple and the outdoor amphitheater that is located above the city’s river. The small outdoor amphitheater has been designed so as its floor would be placed just above the water level.
The audience is going to be able to watch a performance while they are seating just above the main river of the city. At the same time, visitors can reach this point through multiple routes that are made of wooden decks, which can lead them to the opposite side of the river.
One can notice a continuous movement between the initial two zones, the zone of the temple and the zone of the cultural center. An interface is achieved of the main routes and paths. These main routes are part of a common design plan. The absence of mobility around the abandoned prison has now given its place to an area that has novel identity and which allows for extended social interaction. The new cultural building does not try to obscure the brilliance of the temple but on the contrary to elevate it.
Dissertation Thesis - Cultural Centre
2008- This project was about transforming an old prison buiding taking into account the surrounding green areas and an ancient temple. This section contains a Turkish temple constructed during the Byzantine era which is now being used as an exhibition and concert hall. Right next to it, there is the city’s old prison building, which has been abandoned and is now falling apart. This section of land constitutes one of the main hubs of the city, while at the same time encapsulates great architectural and historic interest.
What is very characteristic about this section of land is the intensity of the citizen’s activity, who tend to move around and through both the temple and the derelict prison building, which is also regarded as one of the main poles of touristic attraction of the city.
The aura of the temple and the aesthetic beauty of the green fields that surround the area come in contrast with the gaunt look of the old prison and the feelings of emptiness this abandoned space creates. The complexity and the diversity of the building’s identities and the way they interact in the space create two distinct zones :
Temple zone : -Intense mobility.
-Interactive relationships among the citizens
Prison zone: -Diminished motion.
-Untapped space.
Main objective of the research was to create an interconnection between these two zones. The initial idea and the basic aim of my architectural dissertation was to create a pole of attraction for the citizens in the exact area where the old prison is situated.
I wanted to create a space of interest for the people who would like to share their time between the area of the temple that is full of life and the isolated area of the former prison.
I designed a set of different routes that start from the building that housed the old prison and, through multiple junctions, these routes end at the point where the temple is now situated. This leads to an optical and virtual connection of these two spaces.
The old prison building is being replaced by a new high-end structure which nonetheless keeps some basic conception of the interior spaces and the floor plan of the old building.
The new building is going to be the city’s cultural center and has been designed to host lectures, art exhibitions and conferences. The surface with glass gives the impression of wrapping the inner steel infrastructure like a veil and offers a form of a building that is weightless.
A visual illusion of continuity among different spaces is also achieved, because the interior spaces are separated with glass dividers which enable the visitor to have a perspective of each elevation. From a structural point of view, the whole building gives the impression of floating in space. This is achieved through the extended use of glass material and the few number of beams and columns in the interior, which have been replaced by a specialized steel structure that frames the “skin” of the building, so that it does not require the presence of columns in the center of the structure.
Another objective was to create a visual continuity among the temple and the new building. I, hence, laid emphasis on the element of transparency rendering it the most important characteristic of the new structure and the new route. Every separate area inside the building is the continuity of another.
The glass façade is characterized by two great 7m high and 6m long openings.
These form the main entrance and exit of the cultural center. The glass canopy seems almost hollow in the inside and the structure integrates an open plan. Once the visitor is inside the building, he/she has a view of the temple almost from every side of the building.
The interior building plan incorporates a complexity of multiple use of spaces in an area of 4.400 square meters altogether: Amphitheater/Lobby area/Exhibition spaces/Library/Reading department Studios for painting,sculpting/Video art/performance studios/Bar-Restaurant.
As the visitor exits the building, a number of routes lead to the temple and the outdoor amphitheater that is located above the city’s river. The small outdoor amphitheater has been designed so as its floor would be placed just above the water level.
The audience is going to be able to watch a performance while they are seating just above the main river of the city. At the same time, visitors can reach this point through multiple routes that are made of wooden decks, which can lead them to the opposite side of the river.
One can notice a continuous movement between the initial two zones, the zone of the temple and the zone of the cultural center. An interface is achieved of the main routes and paths. These main routes are part of a common design plan. The absence of mobility around the abandoned prison has now given its place to an area that has novel identity and which allows for extended social interaction. The new cultural building does not try to obscure the brilliance of the temple but on the contrary to elevate it.