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City Hall and cultural center in Oraiokastro Thessaloniki

Oraiokastro is located 12 km northwest from the center of Thessaloniki, amphitheatrically, with average high 250 m above the sea level. The area is close to a main road which connects the town with the city of Thessaloniki and Egnatia Street.

Name of the student: Anthopoulou Ourania
Supervisors' names: G.Zoidis, N.Panagiotopoulos
University: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Date of presentation: 30/09/2010

The most important targets of the proposal are:

- The direct service of the citizens
- The infrastructure and the surroundings to be friendly to the visitors and the users
- The ability to use renewable energy sources
- The complex to be readable and easily accessed
- The complex to distinguish itself as a city hall.

The building has been placed in the field by following the correct orientation (south) and the shape of the buildings make the access easier from every street of the area.

The proposal includes two different functional units; the city hall (A) and the culture center (B), which connect to each other with a loose bent which promotes the independence as well as the connection of its functions.

The City Hall (A) is consisted of 2 floors. On the ground floor, there have been placed functions which have mostly to do with the direct service of the citizens. On the other hand, on the other two floors there have been placed functions which have to do with inner issues of the municipality.

On the ground floor of the culture center is the foyer of the building, WC, wardrobe and a multifunctional room with capacity of 80 people. On the first floor there is the library and the PC-pool of the municipality. The landscape around the complex has been formed according the movements of its users.

One of the main targets of this proposal is that the buildings' systems will help the municipality to reduce the energy costs and in the same time to create a healthy and comfortable environment. Parallel with the design process, a research has been made according the systems of heating-cooling, the shading system etc.

The most important purpose was to create a functional and healthy environment for the employees and the citizens, which abstracts the construction of the municipality.