5mm DRAINAGE MAT
25mm DRAINAGE BOARD
VAPOUR BARRIER
29
3
6
5
4
9
8
200mm REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB
33
2
1
120-300mm RIGID INSULATION
30
300mm CEILING VOID
16mm GYPSUM BOARD
32
10
WALL ASSEMBLY
FFL 92.0
16mm GYPSUM BOARD
32
31
22
22
KINDRGARTEN COURTYARD VIEW
22
9
9
23
19
19
INFILL CONCRETE BLOCK
24
FFL 94.0
22
300mm WIND CHIMNEY VOID SPACE
30
16
INFILL
CONCRETE BLOCK WITH MORTAR
AND CEMENT
VAPOUR BARRIER
24
16
18
16
14
8
100mm RIGID INSULATION
11
15
17
89mm ALUMINIUM WALL STUD
REINFORCING MESH
PRIMARY SCHOOL COURTYARD VIEW
FFL 94.0
20mm
STUCCO RENDER WITH FINISH COATING
24
WALL ASSEMBLY
7
AERIAL VIEW TOWARDS NORTH EAST
16mm GYPSUM BOARD
24
12
89mm ALUMINIUM WALL STUD
INFILL
CONCRETE BLOCK WITH MORTAR
AND CEMENT
16
SECONDARY SCHOOL LIBRARY VIEW
89mm ALUMINIUM WALL STUD
16mm GYPSUM BOARD
11
FFL 91..0
12
13
WALL ASSEMBLY
NATURAL STONE WITH MORTAR AND SAND
CEMENT
REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMN
25
100mm RIGID INSULATION
VAPOUR BARRIER
FFL 92.0
PROGRAMS
LOOP
COMMON
LOCATION
OPTIMIZATION
AA
SITE PLAN 1:1000
NATURAL STONE WITH MORTAR AND SAND
KINDERGARTEN
FFL 94.0
24
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
PLATEIA VIEW
ENTRANCE VIEW
FFL 90.0
SECONDARY SCHOOL ARTS CRAFT & DESIGN ROOM VIEW
27
KINDERGARTEN
Common Ground_Throughout the history of the built environment, the courtyard typology is marked by the universality of its use. In hotter climates it has provided a model for passive cooling through cross ventilation, heat exhaust, and the creation of a microclimate. More fundamentally, it has brought people together for the cultivation of lasting relationships. This archetype forms the basis of our design for the SEEH Bioclimatic School Complex. Within the mosaic of multiculturalism, and with multiple stages of life forming a cohesive whole, it is with the courtyard that we strive to create common ground, and to give expression to the cosmopolitan history and populace of Crete. The project responds to the directive that all educional units “constitute an entity while at the same time be capable of operating independently”. Our design creates a cluster of three separate courtyard buildings defining each educational unit, and connected by a central square. This objective was confronted by the physical site constraints, as well as by opportunities presented by sensible solar orientation and the channeling of the predominant winds.
Design Approach_The complex’s formal strategy is based on the strong contrast of materials, and propelled by the duality of opaque/transparent. Solid exterior walls define the courtyards. Carved from this white mass, tall vertical windows illuminate the spaces beyond. Lining the interior of these courtyards, a cloister shaded by olive-wood fins defines the inner world of the schools. The connection of buildings to landscape presents two contrasting conditions: Where the building is embedded into the natural topography of the site, a language of stone walls retains earth and provides a visual foundation for the more fluid and airy white mass above. Where the natural topography drops, piloti support the underbelly of the schools, creating outdoor shaded areas of education, physical activity, and repose.
Bioclimatic Foundations_A more balanced relationship between the complex and its natural environment is integral to the project, and necessitates a holisitic approach to the material, tectonic, and planning development of the project. Bioclimatic concepts are structured by the courtyard, and reinforced by its adaptation to state of the art measures. Two main factors influenced these strategies, and established the general orientation and massing of the buildings: consistency of wind direction, as well as Heraklion’s high number of annual sun hours (approx. 2700). Cross ventilation, southern exposure, and thermal mass are here orchestrated in varied modes of operation, in order
