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Innovative Bioclimatic European School Complex
Innovative Bioclimatic European School Complex
Irákleio, Greece
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Other Projects by Yianna Bouyioukou Architects
Innovative Bioclimatic European School Complex
Irákleio, Greece
The proposal for the Innovative Bioclimatic European School Complex is based on two main design premises:
1. A thorough understanding of the program as a reflection on the nature of teaching and learning and the specific ways in which architecture can enrich this process.
2. A thorough understanding of the place where the school is inserted as a didactic reflection on how to relate the human habitat to a specific environment.
1. PROGRAM
Teaching and learning have different meanings according to different age stages. At the same time it is an ongoing process where experiences and knowledge acquired over the years can still be applied and relate to other moments of learning and life.
The School Complex aims to have a clear distribution that makes it easy to identify each building but also provides the same sense of familiarity in all of them. Throughout the different educational levels, the interior spatial orientation of the buildings is repeated (the access is located in the same area, the circulation repeats the same diagram, the classrooms have the same orientation, etc). Each building is a different one, but also similar to the previous one.
There is an implied part of the program that understands that teaching and learning can happen everywhere and anytime, vertically but also horizontally, between mates.
One of the richest aspects of the Complex is the multicultural composition of its students, the fact that it will host pupils of different ethnic backgrounds and religions.
In this regard, the common spaces of the building acquire a great relevance. Detailed attention is given in having the best conditions possible in common areas like the library, corridors and hallways. The treatment of the ground floor is given a special importance since it is the common ground that all the buildings share. By calibrating the relationship between the total areas and the footprint, the buildings leave room for generous playgrounds that merge into the landscape and let the existing olive trees come in. In each of the playgrounds different children of different backgrounds will meet and experience diversity. The architectural treatment of the interior facades encourages a controlled horizontal visual transparency.
Finally, covered entry spaces and the ample sidewalk in front of the school is also the place for the encounter. This is to be the school´s public space where the institution meets society, the public space that the future citizens will learn to nourish and share.
2. PLACE
The “place” is analyzed and interpreted in several layers, ranging from the topography to the cultural heritage of Crete. Formally, the main features of the site are the gentle slope towards the sea (contrary to the south orientation) and the valley-like configuration of the cross section. Perceptually however, the hundreds of beautiful olive trees that cover the sloping ground are its main asset. These two conditions derived on a proposal that seeks to take advantage of the topography in order to diminish the visual impact of the building by having the tallest building in the lowest part of the site; and merge into the landscape letting the olive trees and the existing soil interlock with the buildings.
The uninterrupted incidence of the Sun is very noticeable at the site. The obvious benefits and drawbacks of the Sun are taken into consideration in the design, both by maximizing its potential as a source for energy and natural lighting and by proving ample shaded areas to control its problematic effects.
The first design act on the place divides the site in parallel stripes that span the full width of the buildable area, in order to provide to each building the maximum length to face the south orientation while leaving the necessary space for playgrounds in between. These stripes alternate built and un-built areas, and can be read both as built bands merging into the landscape or green bands merging into the building. The trees that need to be removed to make place for the buildings are relocated at the playgrounds and in the perimeter of the complex.
The geometric nuisances of the plot are reflected positively as a design feature. The skewed relationship between the street and the longest transverse direction of the site derives in an angled relationship between the two main directions of the buildings that guarantees an efficient use of the plot. These skewed angles at the edges of the buildings visually lighten the volumes and provide a distinctive and subtle character to the complex. In the leftover spaces around the building, the irregular geometry is fully utilized for buses and emergency accesses and turn-around as well as for a large parking area for cars and buses.
Moreover, the fact that the geographical north is also at an angle with the buildings defines (together with the latitude of the location) the specific direction and grain of the solar panels texture on the roof, and establishes a new contrast with the geometry that governs the buildings.
The Palace of Knossos nearby is a clear reference on the use of open courtyards that reinforce the activities of the building, and the idea of column lined verandas as buffer zones between the exterior and the interior was also inspired in examples of Minoan architecture. Furthermore, the wooden columns in the facades of our proposal refer to those original wooden columns and beams used at Knossos.
The building is informed and defined by the site, with specific design decisions that denote its belonging.
DESIGN
The challenge of designing an educational complex that comprises of three different levels of education is solved by proposing a group of functionally different buildings (each with its own independence) with a formal and material unity. Even if they are not connected functionally, the four buildings are related architecturally, as a way to stress the continuity of the learning process as an interrelated whole.
The four main programmatic areas are physically separated. In every case the courtyards act as the space that separates them.
The Kindergarten and the main Administration building form the first unity that is separated from each other through the Kindergarten courtyard. Their unity is achieved by sharing a common roof and façade.
The Primary School is separated from the Kindergarten and Administration building by its courtyard. The entry canopy acts as the link with the Kindergarten wing.
The Secondary School is separated from the Primary School by its courtyard. Once again the entry canopy acts as the link with the Primary School.
The width of the courtyards is proportioned to the number of students and to the way they get sun in winter. Within each building, the priority was to give every classroom the same conditions and have them all be oriented towards the south.
In Kindergarten the classrooms are located in the ground floor.
In the Primary and Secondary Schools all the classrooms are located in the second and third floors and they span the full length of the buildings.
Towards the south, covered verandas and balconies protect the south orientation from the direct summer sun. An alignment of solid wooden columns provides a dynamic sunscreen that changes its density providing different degrees of light and privacy according to the program behind. The changing rhythm of light and shade from the columns also repeats on the north facades and provide a material sense of warmness to the whole complex.
The balconies of the classroom host traditional flower pots with Geraniums, bringing a living thing in close proximity with the learning space and providing changing colors to the building.
Towards the West, solid white concrete walls block the sun and give privacy to the complex while also defining the institutional façade.
The growth in height of the complex (one, two and three stories) is defined by the program schedule and the number of students each building accommodates. The stepped profile on the site derives from the fact that having the lowest building on the south and the highest one on the north guarantees the best possible condition regarding sun and natural light for the playgrounds and classrooms. Moreover, the fact that the site has a gentle slope towards the north counterbalances the growing height of the complex and diminishes its impact.
The calibration of the interior height of the ground floor spaces is gradually achieved by using the natural slope of the site: the slab that covers the ground floors remains at the horizontal same level, while the ground steps down following the topography. In this way the ground floor of each building differs in height according to number and age of the users.
As the students grow older and advance in the learning process the school itself accompany their growth: it gets taller and the views from the buildings towards the landscape reach further.
The Kindergarten boys and girls are protected, their windows face the near slope, the soil of Crete and the friendly olives, their playground is enclosed and partially covered.
The Primary School students reach one floor higher and see above the Kindergarten towards the nearby landscape, in their playground they discover a big sky.
Finally the Secondary School students see above the other two. In the third floor, The last year students -that will soon leave the school and enter the adult life- will be able to see the land beyond and the Aegean Sea and its horizon towards the north, as an a gentle reminder of the new horizons waiting for them yet to discover.
BIOCLIMATIC FEATURES
Basic Strategy
The focus was placed in using simple architectural means and methods that would enrich the design and work together with the bioclimatic conditions of the site in order to minimize the energy needs for the building to function. The design considers the sun as the most important climatic feature, both in terms of taking advantage of it as a source of energy (to generate electricity and heat water for heating) and moderate its negative effects in summer.
The positioning and orientation of the built masses is the first most important decision regarding a good bioclimatic performance. The massing of the complex guarantees that every building has a long façade area facing south and that the buildings stand perpendicular to the prevailing winds, to easily control the sun incidence while benefiting from natural light and to take advantage of natural cross ventilation. By calculating the maximum angles of the sun in winter and summer eaves and balconies widths are set in order to block the direct sun between May and October and gradually control its partial incidence in the winter months. The sunscreen defined by the wooden columns also controls direct sunlight in the early mornings and late afternoons. The East and West sun rays are completely controlled by light colored blank facades.
Rain water is collected and used for irrigation at playgrounds, green roofs and balcony greenery.
Summer
By avoiding direct sunlight in the glazed areas in summer the building itself shields from the undesirable effects of the sun heat gain. PV and water heating panels that cover all the roofs provide a cushion of shade and cool air capable of lowering the temperature of the roof by 15 to 20 degrees. On the top of the entrance canopies a green roof is proposed. Operable windows next to the ceilings aim to take advantage of the cool breeze from the northwest that provides a cross air flow, lowering the interior temperature and eliminating the use of mechanical air conditioning systems.
The presence of trees and greenery in the playgrounds and balconies also add to the generation of natural outdoor shaded areas.
Winter
In winter some direct sun is allowed in the rooms on the lower part of the façade. By doing this the physiological benefits of the sun (and some greenhouse effect for energy gaining) are achieved while preventing glaring.
Operable windows should be controlled in order to avoid losing energy through them. A thoughtful use of insulation in walls, roofs and windows will minimize energy loses.
Heating of the spaces is solved but extensive use of radiant flooring. Both solar energy and geothermal energy are suitable for heating the water and should be defined at a more detailed design stage.
In the outdoor areas, the section profile of the complex ensures sunlight in the playgrounds.
The project proposes simple but effective strategies to work together with the site conditions in order to reduce the dependence on mechanical systems. Precise architectural early decisions regulate the effects of the environment on the comfort and its energy demands. Rather than having add-ons onto the design, the proposal seeks to have a holistic approach to the bioclimatic conditions and synthesize an intelligent understanding of the environment within the design itself.
1. A thorough understanding of the program as a reflection on the nature of teaching and learning and the specific ways in which architecture can enrich this process.
2. A thorough understanding of the place where the school is inserted as a didactic reflection on how to relate the human habitat to a specific environment.
1. PROGRAM
Teaching and learning have different meanings according to different age stages. At the same time it is an ongoing process where experiences and knowledge acquired over the years can still be applied and relate to other moments of learning and life.
The School Complex aims to have a clear distribution that makes it easy to identify each building but also provides the same sense of familiarity in all of them. Throughout the different educational levels, the interior spatial orientation of the buildings is repeated (the access is located in the same area, the circulation repeats the same diagram, the classrooms have the same orientation, etc). Each building is a different one, but also similar to the previous one.
There is an implied part of the program that understands that teaching and learning can happen everywhere and anytime, vertically but also horizontally, between mates.
One of the richest aspects of the Complex is the multicultural composition of its students, the fact that it will host pupils of different ethnic backgrounds and religions.
In this regard, the common spaces of the building acquire a great relevance. Detailed attention is given in having the best conditions possible in common areas like the library, corridors and hallways. The treatment of the ground floor is given a special importance since it is the common ground that all the buildings share. By calibrating the relationship between the total areas and the footprint, the buildings leave room for generous playgrounds that merge into the landscape and let the existing olive trees come in. In each of the playgrounds different children of different backgrounds will meet and experience diversity. The architectural treatment of the interior facades encourages a controlled horizontal visual transparency.
Finally, covered entry spaces and the ample sidewalk in front of the school is also the place for the encounter. This is to be the school´s public space where the institution meets society, the public space that the future citizens will learn to nourish and share.
2. PLACE
The “place” is analyzed and interpreted in several layers, ranging from the topography to the cultural heritage of Crete. Formally, the main features of the site are the gentle slope towards the sea (contrary to the south orientation) and the valley-like configuration of the cross section. Perceptually however, the hundreds of beautiful olive trees that cover the sloping ground are its main asset. These two conditions derived on a proposal that seeks to take advantage of the topography in order to diminish the visual impact of the building by having the tallest building in the lowest part of the site; and merge into the landscape letting the olive trees and the existing soil interlock with the buildings.
The uninterrupted incidence of the Sun is very noticeable at the site. The obvious benefits and drawbacks of the Sun are taken into consideration in the design, both by maximizing its potential as a source for energy and natural lighting and by proving ample shaded areas to control its problematic effects.
The first design act on the place divides the site in parallel stripes that span the full width of the buildable area, in order to provide to each building the maximum length to face the south orientation while leaving the necessary space for playgrounds in between. These stripes alternate built and un-built areas, and can be read both as built bands merging into the landscape or green bands merging into the building. The trees that need to be removed to make place for the buildings are relocated at the playgrounds and in the perimeter of the complex.
The geometric nuisances of the plot are reflected positively as a design feature. The skewed relationship between the street and the longest transverse direction of the site derives in an angled relationship between the two main directions of the buildings that guarantees an efficient use of the plot. These skewed angles at the edges of the buildings visually lighten the volumes and provide a distinctive and subtle character to the complex. In the leftover spaces around the building, the irregular geometry is fully utilized for buses and emergency accesses and turn-around as well as for a large parking area for cars and buses.
Moreover, the fact that the geographical north is also at an angle with the buildings defines (together with the latitude of the location) the specific direction and grain of the solar panels texture on the roof, and establishes a new contrast with the geometry that governs the buildings.
The Palace of Knossos nearby is a clear reference on the use of open courtyards that reinforce the activities of the building, and the idea of column lined verandas as buffer zones between the exterior and the interior was also inspired in examples of Minoan architecture. Furthermore, the wooden columns in the facades of our proposal refer to those original wooden columns and beams used at Knossos.
The building is informed and defined by the site, with specific design decisions that denote its belonging.
DESIGN
The challenge of designing an educational complex that comprises of three different levels of education is solved by proposing a group of functionally different buildings (each with its own independence) with a formal and material unity. Even if they are not connected functionally, the four buildings are related architecturally, as a way to stress the continuity of the learning process as an interrelated whole.
The four main programmatic areas are physically separated. In every case the courtyards act as the space that separates them.
The Kindergarten and the main Administration building form the first unity that is separated from each other through the Kindergarten courtyard. Their unity is achieved by sharing a common roof and façade.
The Primary School is separated from the Kindergarten and Administration building by its courtyard. The entry canopy acts as the link with the Kindergarten wing.
The Secondary School is separated from the Primary School by its courtyard. Once again the entry canopy acts as the link with the Primary School.
The width of the courtyards is proportioned to the number of students and to the way they get sun in winter. Within each building, the priority was to give every classroom the same conditions and have them all be oriented towards the south.
In Kindergarten the classrooms are located in the ground floor.
In the Primary and Secondary Schools all the classrooms are located in the second and third floors and they span the full length of the buildings.
Towards the south, covered verandas and balconies protect the south orientation from the direct summer sun. An alignment of solid wooden columns provides a dynamic sunscreen that changes its density providing different degrees of light and privacy according to the program behind. The changing rhythm of light and shade from the columns also repeats on the north facades and provide a material sense of warmness to the whole complex.
The balconies of the classroom host traditional flower pots with Geraniums, bringing a living thing in close proximity with the learning space and providing changing colors to the building.
Towards the West, solid white concrete walls block the sun and give privacy to the complex while also defining the institutional façade.
The growth in height of the complex (one, two and three stories) is defined by the program schedule and the number of students each building accommodates. The stepped profile on the site derives from the fact that having the lowest building on the south and the highest one on the north guarantees the best possible condition regarding sun and natural light for the playgrounds and classrooms. Moreover, the fact that the site has a gentle slope towards the north counterbalances the growing height of the complex and diminishes its impact.
The calibration of the interior height of the ground floor spaces is gradually achieved by using the natural slope of the site: the slab that covers the ground floors remains at the horizontal same level, while the ground steps down following the topography. In this way the ground floor of each building differs in height according to number and age of the users.
As the students grow older and advance in the learning process the school itself accompany their growth: it gets taller and the views from the buildings towards the landscape reach further.
The Kindergarten boys and girls are protected, their windows face the near slope, the soil of Crete and the friendly olives, their playground is enclosed and partially covered.
The Primary School students reach one floor higher and see above the Kindergarten towards the nearby landscape, in their playground they discover a big sky.
Finally the Secondary School students see above the other two. In the third floor, The last year students -that will soon leave the school and enter the adult life- will be able to see the land beyond and the Aegean Sea and its horizon towards the north, as an a gentle reminder of the new horizons waiting for them yet to discover.
BIOCLIMATIC FEATURES
Basic Strategy
The focus was placed in using simple architectural means and methods that would enrich the design and work together with the bioclimatic conditions of the site in order to minimize the energy needs for the building to function. The design considers the sun as the most important climatic feature, both in terms of taking advantage of it as a source of energy (to generate electricity and heat water for heating) and moderate its negative effects in summer.
The positioning and orientation of the built masses is the first most important decision regarding a good bioclimatic performance. The massing of the complex guarantees that every building has a long façade area facing south and that the buildings stand perpendicular to the prevailing winds, to easily control the sun incidence while benefiting from natural light and to take advantage of natural cross ventilation. By calculating the maximum angles of the sun in winter and summer eaves and balconies widths are set in order to block the direct sun between May and October and gradually control its partial incidence in the winter months. The sunscreen defined by the wooden columns also controls direct sunlight in the early mornings and late afternoons. The East and West sun rays are completely controlled by light colored blank facades.
Rain water is collected and used for irrigation at playgrounds, green roofs and balcony greenery.
Summer
By avoiding direct sunlight in the glazed areas in summer the building itself shields from the undesirable effects of the sun heat gain. PV and water heating panels that cover all the roofs provide a cushion of shade and cool air capable of lowering the temperature of the roof by 15 to 20 degrees. On the top of the entrance canopies a green roof is proposed. Operable windows next to the ceilings aim to take advantage of the cool breeze from the northwest that provides a cross air flow, lowering the interior temperature and eliminating the use of mechanical air conditioning systems.
The presence of trees and greenery in the playgrounds and balconies also add to the generation of natural outdoor shaded areas.
Winter
In winter some direct sun is allowed in the rooms on the lower part of the façade. By doing this the physiological benefits of the sun (and some greenhouse effect for energy gaining) are achieved while preventing glaring.
Operable windows should be controlled in order to avoid losing energy through them. A thoughtful use of insulation in walls, roofs and windows will minimize energy loses.
Heating of the spaces is solved but extensive use of radiant flooring. Both solar energy and geothermal energy are suitable for heating the water and should be defined at a more detailed design stage.
In the outdoor areas, the section profile of the complex ensures sunlight in the playgrounds.
The project proposes simple but effective strategies to work together with the site conditions in order to reduce the dependence on mechanical systems. Precise architectural early decisions regulate the effects of the environment on the comfort and its energy demands. Rather than having add-ons onto the design, the proposal seeks to have a holistic approach to the bioclimatic conditions and synthesize an intelligent understanding of the environment within the design itself.
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