In an area with uneven and intensive construction, on the outskirts of Attiki Odos, in Koropi, a new industrial building has been built to house a publishing company. The building, with a total area of 4,035 sq m., is prefabricated with load-bearing prestressed elements, with a span of 17 m., and reinforced concrete infill walls (3.20 x 7.00 m). The single building shell houses the office spaces in the part facing the road, and the industrial spaces in the rest. The building-object is perceived as a megalithic structure. The cast concrete, this artificial stone, is shaped in the prefabrication molds with the logic of a megalithic wall that wraps around the building, eliminating the typical scale of the floors. Embedded in the megalithic structure, the building’s openings are evenly dispersed, for diffused sunlight and ventilation of the work spaces.
The “theme” of the megalithic structure, which gives the building’s shell the form of a perforated wall, is repeated in a different way in the part of the shell that houses the office spaces. There, the pattern of the perforated wall is expressed by the placement of visible thermal insulation “stones” on the facade panels.
In general, the architectural management of the industrial building, which is usually addressed with conventional constructions and solutions, aims here to optimize the energy efficiency of the shell. It also gives the building – which is mainly perceived in the urban environment by the speed of passing cars – a strong symbolic and emblematic character. Industry, as a workplace, remains a breached castle even now, in the era of post-Fordist production.
Study team:
Zissis Kotionis, architect
Nikos Platsas, architect
Static study:
“Foundation”, Psalidas S.A.
Electromechanical study:
G. Kollias, electrical engineer
Plot area: 4560m²
Total area: 4,035m²
Study period: 2007
Completion date: 2010
Photographic editing: Vasilis Makris