KAU Gymnasium

By positioning the new gym hall into the nature and locating the entrance at the site's highest level, a new routing for the students becomes possible; a new sensorial and physical interaction between the users and the surrounding is 'developped'. The explicit gesture of locating the building carved in the landscape, moreover, defines its materialization.

Within the formal strictness and simplicity according to which the project has been conceived, a double isolated concrete retaining wall is dug into the hill, while on the other side, a light and open facade offers a clear perspective towards the trees and the surroundings. The materials used are basic and allow a rather purified detailing of both structure and facade. Architecture and structure are therefore blended into a single facade system, where the steel structure consisting of H and I shaped beams, is integrated with the articulation of the wooden facade panels. The glazed facades, on the other hand, are composed by selfdesigned curtain walls, enriched by vertical and horizontal laminated pinewood beams(80x225mm). The cover plates are in afzelia, a durable type of hardwood characterized by a pleasant agingprocess.

The interior is consciously designed with sobriety. The hardness of the concrete wall is balanced by soft plywood panels, that donate color and appropriate acoustics to the gym hall. The mild grey of floor and walls, is finally meant to maintain the focus on the outside view.