Preschool Education Center | Ioannina, Greece

Project identity:

Preschool Education Center "SECRET KEY" in the area of Kato Neochoropoulo in Ioannina extends to 5000 sq. meters, of which 500 sq. meters are the newly built building facilities with a total of 9 creative Atelier and the rest are the outdoor areas with infant and toddler playgrounds, basketball and football stadiums, a vegetable garden and 2 outdoor circular theaters. All of its philosophy is based on the internationally recognized education system "Reggio Emilia", which creates a complete personality of a child capable of forming his own abilities and thoughts through the synthesis of all expressive, communicative and cognitive "languages".

Concept and construction of the project:

The idea has begun with the protagonist of the child, which by its nature has to pass gradually and smoothly from various routes, which are manifested by the colorful thematic rooms-Atelier with the first station the bridge of wishes where every child and parent leaves a wish for his personal development, but also for society in general.

All Atelier are carefully studied by age and section, each of which is made up of special constructions and includes color and optic details, based on the sensitive and innocent childhood. Each Atelier consists of four corners of activities, ergonomically designed, with the most characteristic of them, the corner of the book and music, which in all the Atelier stands out with its tree (different in each room), around and below which the children are gathered and for the first time listening to the speech and the notes of music and nature - one where these corners are in direct contact with the large openings that unify the external environment with the playgrounds and trees, with the interior space and natural light flowing abundantly at all times of the day.

The 4 small transom windows over the large openings are covered with a special translucent film in the basic colors, which create flamboyant reflections inside the Atelier and irritate the imagination of children through the game of shadow-light while simultaneously stimulating the child's ability to perceive the volumes and the three dimensions of the objects in the surrounding space from a very young age.

All the halls and activities end up in a central square in the center of the building, which is noticed as soon as you get inside. The so-called Piazza "Mandala" represents the microcosm, in which each child is first socialized, with its specially designed large circular mandala, an alloy of colorful geometric shapes that perfectly match each other and inspire children for many games and collectives discussions. Piazza "Mandala" is illuminated by a large glass pyramid, forming a spacious patio where the penetration of the sky inside the building is intense and the sunlight plays unresolved games throughout its internal structure. This dominant influence of the inside and the outside offers children the ability of very young to understand that they are part of a world that is sometimes composed of small and sometimes larger ensembles and the relation "man-nature" is the basis for their extinction in general. This was also the philosophy of the architectural view, on the basis of which the project was designed and studied.

The facades of the building consist of masks with the most intimate figure for the children, the house. They were made of metal beams at dense intervals, painted with a different range of colors, thus achieving a permanent rainbow, a symbol of happiness and the energy of vision. In spite of the robustness of the construction, the result is so light, almost delicate, and the diversity of the shadows that throws during the day in the surrounding space reminds of artwork, sometimes cubist and sometimes futuristic.

The project started in January 2017 and was completed at the end of August of the same year.

Study | Planning:

Concept Design/Planning/Supervising: DFF Design|Evelyn A. Kamilaki|Lampaditis Theodoros/ Athens

Arch. & Civil/Mech. Engineers/Planning/Contractors/Supervising:
X.Nikolatou-S.Giannoulis / Ioannina

Lighting Design:  DFF Design | Evelyn A. Kamilaki | Lampaditis Theodoros / Athens

Photograph: Menelaos Sykovelis
 

Suppliers:

Aluminum Frames: ALUMINCO / Athens

Drywall System / Thermal façade system: Georgios Papadimitrakis

Lighting: GEKAS ΑΕΒΕ/ Ioannina
Woodwork: Ioannis Paraskeuas/ Ioannina

Metal Construction |Shading System:  ALGEAN/ Athens

Prints: Magic Arts – Fotis Kyros/ Ioannina

Planting | Agriculture: Stayros Papazogloy

Playground Equipment: IMPRESIA 99 / Bulgaria