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Study model of offset hollow frames, window shadows on the table — Piraeus Sea Centre
Study model, window shadows

Piraeus Sea Centre

High-rise building · 22 storeys · 17,000 m²

Building type
Multifunctional high-rise tower
Location
Piraeus, Greece
Area
17,000 m²
Status
Architectural concept

Selected works 03Piraeus Sea Centre

Elizabeth Iosifidi

Project information

Building type
Multifunctional high-rise tower
Location
Piraeus, Greece
Area
17,000 m²
Year
2021–2022
Status
Architectural concept
My role
Sole author
Team
Individual work
School
NTUA, School of Architecture
Semester
Semester 9
Course
Building Construction 9B — Advanced Construction Topics
Tutors
K. Kostopoulos (coordinator)Lambrinopoulos (tutor)K. Gounaridis (assistant)
Study model: white hollow frames stacked and rotated against each other — Piraeus Sea Centre
Study model of rotated layers
Study model of offset hollow frames in side daylight — Piraeus Sea Centre
Study model, side light
Cutaway visualisation: the 22-storey tower with its concrete core and stairs, floor plates, a double glass skin with planted atria — Piraeus Sea Centre
Visualisation: cutaway of the tower
Site plan: the Piraeus waterfront and harbour, city blocks, the tower site — Piraeus Sea Centre
Site plan Open full size
Pencil sketches: a swirl, a wavy line, a tower with curving floor lines; beside them a grey massing model of the twisting tower — Piraeus Sea Centre
Form-finding for the tower’s architectural image

Idea

The proximity of the sea shaped the architectural concept of the high-rise. The tower’s architectural image is based on the fluid form of a sea wave: the volume twists in a spiral, forming two expressive orientations — towards the city centre and towards the port of Piraeus.

Level 1 plan: a square column grid and the core with stairs, lifts and toilets — Piraeus Sea Centre
Level 1 plan Open full size
Level 10 plan: the floor plate rotated around the core within the facade square — Piraeus Sea Centre
Level 10 plan Open full size
Level 20 plan: the building split into two parts, each with its own core — Piraeus Sea Centre
Level 20 plan Open full size
Axonometric section of a double-facade fragment: two floor slabs with cantilevered timber decks and glazing; below, the tower in its urban setting — Piraeus Sea Centre
Axonometric section Open full size
South elevation of the twisting glass tower with a level scale — Piraeus Sea Centre
South elevation Open full size
South-east elevation of the twisting glass tower with a level scale — Piraeus Sea Centre
South-east elevation Open full size
North elevation of the twisting glass tower with a level scale — Piraeus Sea Centre
North elevation Open full size

Form and structure

The tower’s volume is generated by successively rotating the floor slabs by 30° up to the +70 m level. Above that level the building splits into two geometrically linked parts, creating a dynamic silhouette. The load-bearing system is organised around a monolithic (cast-in-situ) concrete core and a steel frame with horizontal floor slabs that supports the sculpted facade volumes.

Vertical section of the double-skin facade between two floor slabs, components numbered 1–11 — Piraeus Sea Centre
Double-skin facade system: section of a fragment Open full size
Elevation of a double-skin facade fragment: glass panels and horizontal louvres — Piraeus Sea Centre
Double-skin facade system: elevation of a fragment Open full size

Double-skin facade

The facade is a two-layer glass envelope with adjustable solar-shading elements, natural ventilation and vertical green atria. Together, these environmental measures aim to reduce energy consumption and create a comfortable indoor environment.

Double-skin facade system · section and elevation of a fragment

1 Inner facade skin — solar-control glazing with a low-emissivity (low-e) coating.
2 Solar shading — automated blinds and roller shades with user control: vertical on the west and east, horizontal on the south.
3 Outer facade skin — double glazing with solar control.
4 Adjustable natural-ventilation louvres with photovoltaic modules.
5 Timber floor with acoustic insulation.
6 Metal grating deck — maintenance gallery 0.5 to 2 m wide.
7 HEA wide-flange beam — hangs the outer skin from the load-bearing structure.
8 Multilayer (“sandwich”) floor slab.
9 Thermal insulation.
10 Suspended ceiling.
11 Cavity between the facade skins.

Pencil sketch: a tower with horizontal floor lines twisting up its height, three wavy vertical lines to the left — Piraeus Sea Centre
Tower sketch, pencil
Pencil sketch: a swirl at the top, a wavy line in the middle, a tower with curving floor lines below — Piraeus Sea Centre
Sketch: swirl and tower, pencil
Two pencil sketches on grey paper: two intertwined curving volumes on the left, a curving shaded volume on the right — Piraeus Sea Centre
Massing sketches, pencil

Details

The work starts with an analysis of twisting-tower precedents, then develops the form in sketches and layered study models.

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