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Dionysian Tower - Piraeus Tower 2010
Athens, Greece
2010 |
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| Type: |
culture
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| Source: |
open anonymous competition |
| Client: |
GreekArchitects.gr, DuPont Hellas S.A. |
| Address/Site: |
Tower of Piraeus, Athens, Greece |
| Storeys: |
25 |
| Structure: |
DuPont Sentrglass, metal grid balconies (inner skin); structural rings connected to tower, cable net (outer skin) |
| Cladding: |
thinfilm photovoltaic technology + ETFE + PTFE (outer skin) |
| Architect: |
Jurij Sadar, Boštjan Vuga, Vanja Gortnar Stavros Gargaretas, Janko Radojević
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Built as a symbol of economic development under military dictatorship, the tower of Piraeus, often referred to as ‘Sleeping giant' never really suggested economic prosperity. Today, this unused tower ironically stands as a reminder of economic degradation, in a time of global economic recession. How then do you deal with a symbol whose original intent could not be further from relevant today?
Greek festivals involve a temporary transformation of an existing public space; a street; a square; a plaza. This is achieved through the use of signs of festivity; hanging flags; music; color. Their character is that of an ideal public event - a Dionysian gathering, which takes place irrespective of weather and political conditions.
Our proposal presents a re-enactment of this street transformation, with the hope of changing the outdated symbolism of this tower, to a timeless symbol of festivity.
This is achieved with the creation of a Greek veranda; a large public space screened from extreme weather conditions. Within this environment, the unused spaces above the podium and on the roof are transformed to an elevated plaza which infiltrates the building, and a garden open to the sky.
This veranda occurs as a space between two skins. The inner skin is attached to the original structure of the tower and is composed of simple openings with balconies. The outer skin is derived from the hanging flags which decorate Greek festivals. This is turned into a microclimatic filter which controls weather extremities, and allows for the creation of a protected space which could be used throughout the year.
Varying environmental parameters effect the treatment of this exterior skin, creating a façade which changes with orientation. Changing seasons are marked with different Greek festivals. As well as providing the microclimate for these seasonal festivals to occur within, the façade will illuminate through the use of LED lights and adjust to the character of each. |
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