Our main thought for the “D. Daskalopoulos Arts Building” was for it to embody a multi-level learning framework for Arts and Science, activating the role of Architecture as an experiential learning factor. Seeking a way to reinterpret the landscape, rather than intervene in it, an architectural solution was designed that would ensure the harmonious integration of the Arts Building into its physical and conceptual environment. To this end, emphasis was also given on the environmental footprint of the building, with a careful bioclimatic study for its energy performance, accompanying the design and aiming to create a prototype sustainable building. 

Adopting the reinterpretation of the landscape, the proposed solution is developed in two gestures, that of the planted slab as a natural continuation of the existing landscape, and that of the elongated structure, as a mediating zone between the natural and the artificial space. Complemented by the materiality of the construction morphologically, this decision of placing the structure is such way, allows a smooth transition from the natural to the built environment. The building volume is reduced and the structures that arise are attributed as common spaces to the entire community of the Athens College.

Overall, we attempted a contemporary design approach to the idea of ​​an educational center dedicated to the Arts, which obliged the connection to an exhibition space. On the first level, the educational center is placed at ground level at the base of the composition, under the planted slab, favoring the functionality of an architectural system dedicated to education. The planted slab of the “art garden” is divided into sections and allows the natural landscape to penetrate through the structure creating internal atriums, which function as relaxation areas of the educational center. It is an educational institution that eschews the conventional concept of building structure and favors interaction and the recycling of ideas and practices. From this first level arises the second level of the elongated structure that houses the exhibition space and the Arts Library and is directly connected, functionally and perceptually, on the one hand to the “art garden” and on the other to the neighboring sports facilities.

This innovative design of the Building makes it distinct and recognizable, placing it at the center of the contemporary dialogue on Art and Education. Our vision is for the “D.Daskalopoulos Arts Building” to be a pole of attraction for the Athens College community as well as the wider artistic world, responding to the demand for a holistic and extroverted approach to the phenomenon of learning.