Building Characteristics

The building program of the Educational Center should include all those spaces, facilities and infrastructures that are required to facilitate the full range of subjects included in IB’s ‘Group 6: The Arts’, according to the strategic goals and the commitment set by the School, and more specifically courses in Visual Arts, Dance, Music, Theater and Film. The design of the building should take into account that the Arts Building will not be directed exclusively to the requirements of IB students but to all students in the Junior High and High School of Athens College and Psychiko College. Additionally, the building must meet all “Eligibility criteria for institutions for the hosting of schools of Private General and Vocational Education” («Κριτήρια καταλληλότητας διδακτηρίων για την στέγαση σχολείων Ιδιωτικής Γενικής και Επαγγελματικής Εκπαίδευσης»), so that it may be licensed as a school building.

The IB Educational Center within the Arts Institution will include (but is not limited to):

• 2 spacious lecture and working rooms for 25 students each (2 x 75m² = total 150 m²);
• 6 studio spaces for visual arts (6 x 75 m² = 450 m²). At least two (2) of them should have independent access, in order to be able to be used by external students outside school hours;
• An auditorium (150 m²);
• A dance room (100 m²);
• A music room for rehearsals and solo and group performances which also serves as a recording studio (100 m²);
• A library dedicated to the arts with reading/computer rooms that connect to the lecture rooms but are also separately accessible by the public (150 m²);
• A single office space (with five work stations) for teaching staff (70 m²);
• An office for administrative staff, with a waiting area (30 m²);
• A video editing and post-production room that will also include equipment to explore with artificial intelligence (50 m²);
• Storage space (150 m²);
• Restrooms, lockers, shower rooms and changing rooms (150 m²);

The Exhibition Space, of total area 300 – 400 m², will include a reception area, cloakroom, information center as well as a small café (for students and visitors).

The Exhibition Space should:

• follow an open plan scheme (incorporating a system of movable panels to allow division into smaller spaces)
• have versatile lighting systems and controlled humidity levels
• have a high ceiling (of at least 6-7m height, in places or throughout) and durable and resistant flooring
• include storage space and toilets
• relate directly to the outdoor space surrounding the building
• have a separate entrance, independent of the Educational Center entrance

The building will include an underground parking space for 40 cars, as well as the necessary underground space to house the building’s utility system.

The area surrounding the Arts Building, whether natural or landscaped, should be an organic part of the activities in the Educational Center and Exhibition Space and be directly connected, functionally and conceptually, with them. The configuration of the outdoor space should include proposals for landscape architecture and planting that ensure the harmonious integration of the Building with the surrounding natural environment taking into account student flow through the green spaces, church area and school buildings, and in the adjacent outdoor sports facilities (currently under construction).

The configuration of the outdoor space should include the creation of an assembly area or small outdoor theater facilitating the expansion of Educational Center and the Exhibition Space activities beyond the Building.