New theatre complex of Piraeus

Students : Vasiliou Evrikleia, Perela Anna, Phragkow Aleksandros
Professor: : Papaioannou T.
Consultans : Timagenis Th.
Dissertation Thesis at the National Technical University of Athens School of Architecture
Presentation Date: 05/07/2010

Starting from the point of view of urban planning we approach the junction of the major streets of Omiridou Skilitsi / Grigoriou Lampraki/ Pireos, the entering and exiting point of Piraeus. At that specific point we can find the industry AZEL, which permanently ceased its production in 1997. Today, it is an inactive building complex shell, which has vast issues of wear and incontinency between the construction of the building that make it up. That is the very reason why we were lead to only keep, and maintain a small portion of the building mass, and not the entire complex.

That is exactly where we choose to place a cultural use, and more specifically a theatre. It is a theatre complex of two stages. The main one provides seating for 970 people, and the second one about 100 depending on the seating layout. Both the main stage and the secondary one [black box] are accompanied by secondary uses both for the audience and the people who work at the theatre, whilst all of the above can find a common public open space which is extended throughout the entire site, and was a designing choice from the very start. Another designing choice was not to merge the two scenes in a common mass. The result of this was the need of a gesture that would connect everything under an overlapping and light shell. Finally, a very important aspect was the front of Orimidou Skilitsi from whence the curved wall created a space that assists the joining of the two stages as well as housing secondary, yet, important uses for the complex.