Highway Service Station:
master plan and preliminary design
Corinth, Greece
K-Architects
A. Kotsiopoulos, A. Panou, E. Zoumboulidou
Th. Kouvaki
total built area
4.100 sqm
design
2004
Initially, the possible - based on the limitations - building masses are determined regardless of the uses to be hosted. The buildings produce their morphological idioms from the very limitations of their own shape and due to the type of hosted uses they have unified facades with a high degree of sustainable design like several environmental protection filters (perforated metal sheets, louvres, double ventilated frames).
A spectrum of 5 categories of uses is identified (multiplex cinemas, food supermarket, clothing and cosmetics supermarket, shop-in-shop shopping center, restaurant-bar, and 6 alternative proposals for combinations for the housing of these uses are examined. All proposals are based on the same building shell because:
(a) of the fact that all uses have related - though not identical - characteristics in terms of the character and form of the shell that surrounds them
(b) the strong shape and size limitations imposed by building conditions.
Of these proposals, proposal 1 (building A: multiplex cinemas and bar, building B: restaurant-bar, building C: food supermarket and shop-in-shop mall) is considered to be the most functional, since it covers the best balance -in the opinion of the researchers - between uses of a different nature and since it follows a rather successfully tested model in the perimeter (distance up to 1 hour) of the large urban formations of our country. Alternatively, solution 6 (building A: multiplex cinemas and bar, building B: restaurant-bar, building C: clothing and cosmetics supermarket, shop-in-shop and bar) could be proposed as the next most likely solution) given that a relatively short distance away there is already a food supermarket.
The parking spaces are located northeast of building C (212 cars and 7 buses) and around the perimeter of building A (65 cars). The entire circulation system allows the entry and exit of vehicles in all possible directions as shown in detail in related plan and, in addition, the full integration of the existing gas station into the project. Pedestrian entry into the buildings and movement between the buildings takes place both on the ground and on a higher level with the help of closed or open bridges as well as underground (between A and B), as shown in detail in the plans.In all buildings, the necessary stairwells and emergency exits are provided, as well as full development of the basements for auxiliary spaces, storage rooms, etc.
Special configurations of pedestrian circulation and rest are foreseen, resulting from the particularity of the masterplan, such as
(a) the area of the panopticon platform at the edge of the canal connected to building C
(b) the degraded small plazas at the entrances of buildings A and B to connect them through the underground walkway
(c) the special configuration of the island in the middle of the underground walkway
(d) the possibility of an alternative route for entering from the large parking lot and passing through building C to the restaurant of building B.