The D. Daskalopoulos Arts Building

What if users and landscape can co-exist in such harmonious balance, creating an intimate level of experience that feels like the building does not exist and is invisible? The competition entry highlighted this question considering the prominent location of the project into the campus of Athens College.

Situated steps away from the main entry gate of Stefanou Delta Street, the north view of this building will be the visitor’s first impression upon entering the College, and the student’s last memory following graduation. Engulfed at the boundary of the sports courts and the campus grove, the competition site asks for a scattered massing that will encourage flows of students to experience building and surroundings alike.

Therefore, the requested program is divided into two big categories: a) the educational functions (art studios, library, classes, management) and b) the exhibition functions (exhibition space, toilets, storage, amphitheater). To improve environmental performance and reduce envelope costs, the design organized the educational program above ground and the exhibition program in the basement. This division allows for clean separation between the students’ flow (towards classes and studios) and visitors’ flow (towards exhibition space); simultaneously, internal building communication permits the connection of education and art when needed.

Considering the plot’s characteristics and its surroundings – both current and planned – and to ease student flows, the educational program is broken down into five separate volumes. The in-between outdoor area of the proposed massing enhances the existing campus circulation, while providing independent access to the classes, art studios, library, and staff offices. Five cores connect the educational Superstructure with the basement zone. This Grand Basement accommodates the exhibition hall and its support areas. Students moving from the educational Superstructure to the Grand Basement encounter a multi-functional Hall before moving to the double-height exhibition room. The Grand Basement Hall is imagined as one of the most active, open, and livable areas of the Arts Building: a zone where students can exhibit projects and prepare their yearly shows, parents can admire their children, and visitors can participate in open seminars; a secret basement universe where nature elegantly inserts into the pedagogy, education and science encounter art, and diverse freedom of expression meets inclusivity.

Two big staircases immerse the user towards the entry plaza situated at a lower level, surrounded by the outdoor amphitheater. In honor of the D. Daskalopoulos donation, the design team decided to dedicate four spacious areas of the building’s lobby to exhibit a selection of the collection’s art pieces, under big skylights.

The proposal for the D.Daskalopoulos Arts Building, with its scattered massing, brick façade and landscape integration looks carefully into the site, campus, program, IB curriculum, donor’s collection, budget and sustainability. It improves social and educational interaction inside and outside the new building and integrates this original typology into the educational experience and collegiate life.