Housing & Leisure Complex

University of Patras-School of Engineering

Department of Architecture

Academic year:  2002-03,8^th Semester

Architectural studio No # 8

Supervisor: Dimitris Antoniou

Team members:  Kyratso Kaskampa, Maro Makri

 Description:

The aim of the project: to study the integration of a multi-use building in a built environment with various challenges. The programme includes a group of apartments (15 apartments of 30m2-studios- and 15 apartments of 60m2) with all the necessary requirements as well as common uses like a reception area, a cafe, a dry-cleaner’s apace, mini-market and an office for the building maintainer. Also, a gym, a pub and a restaurant are organised. The whole area covers 3,000m2.

The block under study is located on the outskirts of city of Patras, overlooking the sea. Every side of the site presents different challenges which comprise the overall restrictions and set the terms of the architectural design.

The design of the building complex was based on the modulus of a typical ‘L-shaped’ apartment of

30m2. The combination of many of these units produced different shapes and an interesting morphological result. One of the basic intention was for all the apartments to overlook the view (hence, the complex is arranged along the perimeter of the block, leaving an open-air space at the core of the complex), to provide privacy and balconies for each one of them.

The concept of integrating the buildings’ volume in a  3-dimensional orthogonal modulus provides coherence to the complex (morphologically and structurally) while it offers the potential of sheltered balconies, cantilevers and recesses.