376 EAAE no 35 Teaching and Experimenting with Architectural Design: Advances in Technology and Changes in Pedagogy
this process of designing, in part implicitly, they come to realize that abstract forms
in architecture have to posses constructive materiality, while creative detailing posses
conceptual value.
The above teaching method results in a variety of different building propositions
from students, as they are facilitated in finding their own path of architectural
expression.
Case Study: A multi storey cultural and recreational building, in Piraeus
The example to be presented concerns the design of a multi storey cultural and recrea-
tional building, in the centre of Piraeus, an important harbour city in the vicinity of
Athens^5. The students had to accommodate a cinema complex, a public library, an art
centre accompanied by an exhibition space, athletic facilities, a bar and a restaurant.
Starting with, the students had to work simultaneously on two dramatically different
scales. On one hand they to work on the urban scale, on a contextual level and on
the other hand they had to focus on a specific functional space, having to present
the textural feeling of the space using mainly conceptual models and sketches. Thus,
each group of students could identify their own starting point of the project, this
being the library, or the cinema space, or any other space they could choose, bringing
in a variety of ideas and concepts.
As they do not fully realise that these first “detailed” conceptual models encom-
passed structural and technical information about their final product, the students
feel freer to express ideas and feelings. While developing these first models by trans-
forming them they keep referencing back and forward, in relation not only to spatial
but structural and textural qualities simultaneously.
Presenting the students’ projects, we want to stress their variety in terms of archi-
tectural expression. For analytical and didactic reasons, we classified them under
three different typologies.
(1) Space is organized by
the use of horizontal
and vertical planes and
linear elements that
express the structure
of the building. 2T1
(2) Space is organized by
volumes. 2T2
(3) Space is organized by
the use of continuous
surfaces. 2T3
All atelier’s project were
organised under the above
mentioned classification.