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Cultural Cell: the formation of a cultural center in Edessa

Mandi Sofia-Rafailia

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Summary

This thesis attempts to create a cultural center in Edessa. The town is surrounded by three mountains and is located on a rock, with an unimpeded view towards Thessaloniki. Its urban area is intersected by Edessaios river, which branches off in various places and ends up creating the waterfalls on the south-eastern side of the cliff. These waterfalls constitute the town´s landmark and play an important role in the development of the broader region.Although various cultural events take place in Edessa, the municipal spaces available for hosting the activities-performances are limited to few and insufficient. In addition, the Public Library has been temporarily accommodated in a part of the building of care center for the elderly, since 2002, particularly in an area of 236sq.m. in total. It is therefore deemed necessary to create an appropriate and contemporary infrastructure to hold the town’s cultural activities.The area of the Municipal Stadium is chosen to place all of the above necessary structures. Its existence in the center of the town constitutes a boundary, which divides the individual functions, in particular, the area of commerce and the touristic part of the town, which also includes the traditional district of Varosi and the waterfalls’ park, and simultaneously makes the access difficult from one area to the other. In its place, therefore, it is proposed to create a Cultural Center which will offer a wide and alternative range of performance opportunities, while integrating the above-mentioned spatial units. At the same time, the proposal also addresses the issue of the absence of a square, at this key point in the town.The starting point for the design was the natural characteristics that one experience in Edessa, which are the water and the mountains. Thus, the form from the river delta is transferred to the plan of the building, and an attempt is made to reproduce the morphology of the natural environment through the curved roof. Finally, the resulting atrium represents the town and at the same time is a passage from the most urban part to the most natural.

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