Architectural heritage in support of contemporary city needs. The case of Kastoria School of Architecture

A major aspect that the group of researchers had in mind was the character of the school and the suitability of the school curriculum with the installation in the existing available spaces. The group's study focused on planning the necessary equipment and harmonizing it with the composition of the school curriculum. The conclusion was that the best choice is to found the M.D.V. School of Architecture in Kastoria, in the existing buildings, as it demonstrates the following advantages:

1. full integration of the university into the urban and social fabric of the old city center is achieved;
2. it utilizes the existing buildings, which are primarily inactive and with secondary functions;
3. it is an example of the restoration of the built heritage for both city residents and students, whose curriculum is designed to place a natural emphasis on the rehabilitation of monuments;
4. the university buildings restored and put to their own use will serve as examples for the expansion and optimization of the urban fabric in the area of the historical center of Kastoria through private initiatives;
5. the aspect of the school's operability in several buildings is not necessarily a shortcoming because the distances within the historic city center are relatively small and the scale of the buildings and the environment is pleasant and humane
6. the siting of different functions in different existing buildings leads to the improvement of degraded areas such as the First High School area, where the main body of the School of Architecture's facilities has been located;
7. the chosen buildings are available for immediate use as they have already been restored or are in the final phase of rehabilitation;
8. the local authorities have been involved in resolving all institutional and economic issues, as well as the probable relocation of certain services.

The School of Architecture in Kastoria is organized in two nuclei. Nucleus A is located at the highest point of the city, in the center of the urban fabric, in the area of the Koumbelidiki Church and includes public buildings.

The Core A area offers green spaces, is accessible by car and allows parking. The planned buildings have similar functions to those they will accommodate in the future and therefore their typological and morphological character remains untouched.

For the same reason, the densely populated and already congested urban fabric of the area is not further encumbered by crowded amenities or by the addition of new buildings.

The buildings designed by well-known architects are not characteristic examples of Kastorian architecture.

However, the quality of the elements together with other advantages of the area can give the university's endowments a semantic charge and harmony in the result.

The buildings planned for this first group are: the First High School - which will be dedicated to the activity of the first years, and ^Xenia4 - which is intended to house the school administration, the students' dining hall, design workshops for diploma elaboration and cultural and social activities of the University and the city of Kastoria.

Since it is a known fact that academic institutions are living organisms and that their evolution or development is not predictable, we proposed the ^Officers' Club building5 as a space for the future expansion of the School of Architecture in Kastoria. However, the research group felt that the acquisition of that building would involve ^lengthy procedures6. Regarding the parking spaces and the accessibility of the nucleus, the proposals made by the working group of the Technical Chamber of Greece /Western Macedonia Branch, Kastoria Branch were adopted.

"It is proposed the access through Mitropoleos Street and the extension from Ag. Athanasios to Ntoltso or from the front of the northern lakes to the center" and "the extension of the existing parking spaces of the Officers' Club to the open spaces of Xenia and the Byzantine Museum, by exploiting the flatness of the land which will provide environmental protection to the outdoor spaces"^7.

Core B is located in the Apozari region, an area of intense traditional character, and includes the palaces "Sapountzi", "Tsiatsapa" and "Tzotza", which are intended to house functions such as the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration or the Research Institute of Byzantine, Post-Byzantine and Traditional Balkan Architecture, functions directly related to the character of the area.

We can say that these buildings are in a compact built unity because they are close to each other and are arranged along the waterfront. Semantically and essentially, they are directly related to the liquid element of the lake.

The organization and development of activities of the Kastoria School of Architecture in two separate buildings is not a defect because the distance between them is not great and the groups of functions placed in these buildings, although relevant to each other, have a high degree of autonomy and independence. Opposite to this separation, each of the functional clusters is better adapted to the character and data of the area hosting it, the operational load of the city is distributed and the preconditions for the improvement of more than one building unit are thus created.

^2. The following Schools of the University of Western Macedonia are located in Florina: Elementary School, School of Nurses' Education, School of Balkan Studies and School of Visual and Applied Arts.

^3. Palaces are examples of traditional architecture that reflect, in the urban fabric, the economic flourishing of the city. Their construction began in the mid-17th century and continued until the 19th century. They usually consist of two stories. Sometimes they reach 3 or 4 storeys, depending on the slope of the land. The plan is rectangular with rectangular additions at the corners. On the ground floor are the utility and storage rooms, and on the mezzanine are the reception area, called the "doxato", and the staircase, the rooms for living in the cold season and the "hiliakos", interior wooden balconies. On the upper level are the "sahnisi", which are also reception areas. The ground and first floors are built of stone and have very few openings, which are strictly for lighting and ventilation of the interior spaces. As lighter building materials are used on the first floor, there are more openings.

^4. A former hotel opened in December 1955. It was built as part of the ONT (National Tourist Organization) hotel construction and operation program carried out between 1950-1974. Outstanding Greek architects such as A. Konstandinidis, D. Pikionis, F. Vokos, Sfaelos.

^5. Work of the architect Kleon Krantonellis.

^6. This building now belongs to the Ministry of National Defense.

^7. This study is entitled "Scenario for the hosting and operation of the School of Architecture in Kastoria". It was prepared by: Doukakaros Manos, architect; Kostaras Georgios, engineer, and Moutziki Evi, engineer. The paper was presented in a public event in Kastoria, organized by the Prefectural Committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece, Western Macedonia Section, Kastoria Prefecture, on 11 May 2008.

The broader area of Kastoria was already inhabited from the Neolithic era (Dispilio settlement). It always constituted an important center of economy and culture of Western Macedonia. An important factor for the above was the strategic location of the city. The city is built amphitheatrically on the banks of the peninsula that holds the same name. The monuments of the byzantine and the ottoman period of the city constitute its special character. Byzantine and post byzantine churches in combination with the stone ^mansions3 (a result of the economic prosperity the city had since the early byzantine period) shape a very special builtscape.

A major issue the research group occupied with, was the character of the school and the corresponding of the curriculum of the school to the available building installations. The research of the group, was occupied with the planning of the necessary installations as well as with the curriculum of the school, and it concluded that the settling of the School of Architecture of UWM in Kastoria in existing buildings was the best choice, as it appears to offer a number of benefits:

1. It obtains the full integration of the university into the urban and social fabric of the historic core of the city.
2. It utilizes existing buildings that primarily are inactive and sub-function.
3. It consists a good example for developing the built environment, for both residents of the city and the students, whose curriculum is indented to put an informal emphasis on the rehabilitation of monuments.
4. The restored and properly utilized buildings of the university will comprise exemplars for expanding the upgrading of the urban fabric of the historic center of Kastoria through the private initiatives.
5. The factor of the operation of the school into more than one buildings is not necessarily a defect, as distances within the historic core of the city are small and the scale of buildings and environment is friendly and human.
6. The placing of different functions into different existing existing buildings leads to the upgrading of degraded areas as is the area of the 1st High School where the main body of the installations of the School of Architecture is placed.
7. The selected buildings are available to be used immediately as they already have been rehabilitated or are at the final phase of their rehabilitation.
8. Local authorities have committed into resolving all institutional and economic issues as well as probable relocation of services.

The School of Architecture of Kastoria is being organized and located into two cores. Core A is placed on the highest point of the city, into the center of the urban fabric, at the area of Koumbelidiki church, and it includes buildings of a public nature.

The area of Core A offers outdoors green spaces, it is accessible to cars and allows parking. The intended buildings had functions similar to the ones they will host, consequently their morphological and typological character remain untouched.

For the same reason, the already congested and densely inhabited urban fabric of the area is not burdened even more with heavy features or by the addition of new buildings. The intended buildings, being the creation of known architects, do not consist characteristic samples of local Kastorian architecture.

Though, the quality elements they can provide university operations with, in combination with the other advantages of the area, most important being its semantic load, balance the outcome.

Buildings which are proposed for this first group, is the 1st High School, which will comprise the main core of the undergraduate teaching activities, and ^Xenia4, which is intended to host the administration of the School, dining rooms for the students, studios for the designing of Diploma Thesis' and cultural and social activities of the University and the city of Kastoria.

Since it is known that university institutions consist living organisms and their evolution and development cannot be predicted, we proposed as a space for future extension of the School of Architecture of Kastoria, the building of the Officers' ^Club5. Though the research group considered that for the acquisition of that building time-consuming procedures will be ^needed6. As for the parking spaces and accessibility of the core, the proposals of the Technical Chamber of Greece/Section of Western Macedonia-Branch of Kastoria work-group are adopted.

"Access through Mitropoleos street is proposed and expansion from Ag. Athanasios street towards Ntoltso or the north lakefront and towards the center" and "expansion of the already covered parking spaces of the Officers' Club towards the outdoors space of Xenia and the Byzantine Museum, by exploiting the sloppiness of the ground which will provide environmental protection to the outdoors ^space7.

Core-B- is in Apozari region, an area with intense traditional character and it includes the mansions of "Sapountzi", "Tsiatsapa" and "Tzotza" which are intended to host functions such as the Graduate School of conservation and rehabilitation or the Research Institute of Byzantine, Postbyzantine and Traditional Balkan Architecture, functions which are straightly related to the character of the area.

The proposed mansions consist a unity of buildings, as they are very close to each other and are placed along the lakefront road. Semantically as well as essentially are directly related to the liquid element of the lake.

The organization and development of activities of the School of Architecture of Kastoria into two separate building unities does not consist a defect, as the distance between them is not great and the groups of functions placed into these buildings, although relevant among them, have a degree of autonomy and independence. Contrary to this separation, each one of the groups of functions adapts better to the character and the data of the area into which it is hosted, the operational burden of the city is distributed and preconditions for

the upgrading of more than one building unities of the city are created.

^2. In Florina are based the following Schools of the University of Western Macedonia: The School of Elementary Education, the School of Nursery Education, the School of Balkan Studies and the School of Applied and Visual Arts....

^3. Mansions are samples of traditional architecture which reflect to the urban fabric the contemporary to them economic flourish of the city. Their construction started from the mid-seventeenth century and was continued up to the 19th century. They usually are two-story buildings. Sometimes however they may have 3 or 4 floors, depending on the sloppiness of the ground. Their floor plan is rectangular with additions of rectangular spaces at the corners. On the ground floor are the utility and storage areas, while on the mezzanine floor there is the main reception area, named "doxato" with the staircase, the winter residence rooms and an internal wooden balcony ("hiliakos"). The upper floor where "sahnisi" are also observed, are the reception spaces. The ground and mezzanine floor, as they are stone made, have very few openings which are used for the lighting and ventilation of the enclosed spaces. In the fist floor, as lighter materials are used, there are more openings.

^4. It is a former hotel which was inaugurated on December 1955.The specific hotel was built as part of a program of construction and operation of hotels of the NTO (National Tourist Organization), which lasted from 1950 to 1974.For the erection of specific units remarkable greek architects were called as A. Konstandinidis, D. Pikionis, F. Vokos, Sfaelos and others.

^5. Project by Kleon Krantonellis

^6. This building currently belongs to the Ministry of National Defense

^7. This study has as its title "scenario of housing and operating a School of Architecture in Kastoria". It was worked out by: Doukakaros Manos, architect, Kostaras Georgios civil engineer and Moutziki Evi civil engineer. The proposal was presented in public in an event held also in Kastoria by the Prefectural Committee of TCG (Technical Chamber of Greece)/ Section of Western Macedonia, Prefecture of Kastoria on the 11th of May 2008.