What I can see

On a plot with a very steep slope, the Π-shaped building was adapted accordingly, which led to a pioneering architectural result, a harmonious relation between simple geometric volumes in a staggered arrangement that simultaneously surround the central outdoor space of three levels. The facades are white and the large wooden glazing is very interesting. The six-grade primary school, with a ceremony hall, office spaces and auxiliary spaces, has all the characteristics of interwar modernism: lack of monumental style, clean volumes, functionality, large and continuous openings, linear skylights and cylindrical supporting columns. The later additions architecturally have no relation to the original building and serve exclusively modern functional needs.

What I can't see

It is considered one of the masterpieces of the Greek modern movement of the interwar period, although the architect Dimitris Pikionis renounced it, saying “when it was finished it did not satisfy me. It was then that I thought that the universal spirit must be combined with the spirit of ethnicity”. It was a project that was part of the 1930s school building construction program, when approximately 4000 schools were built throughout Greece. Architecturally, they followed the new trends of the time in pedagogy, such as the free arrangement of desks. In this case, Pikionis went one step further by trying to create outdoor classrooms. Based on all these facts, the building has been fairly declared a historical monument by the Ministry of Culture.

Info

• Address: 1 Leontos Sgourou St.

Bibliography