SENSORIUM | FIVE SENSES INTERACTION CENTER. Green and smart healthcare facility

This topic derives from the necessity for an experimental architectural facility structure in Thessaloniki, Greece that enhances healthcare as the main design element. There for a group of architects within the Faculty of Architecture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki contacted a research about the role of contemporary architecture in configuration with healthcare and built environment. In brief, according to the findings of the research one of the main arguments is the fact that architecture and quality of the building environment are influential and healthcare must be one of the basic design materials.
The present study aimed to investigate the current architecture status of Thessaloniki, Greece and to make an architectural proposal for a healthcare facility. This is essentially the case for an interaction Center that visitors can participate in a creative act through art. Art- therapy is one aspect of the project. The plot is in a neuralgic location right at the heart of the second largest city of Greece. The building sits along the Thermaikos Gulf facing Olympus Mountain on the one side and the urban landscape with modern buildings and ancient ruins coexisting on the other side. Its location, nearby the historical center and at the edge of the modern city just a few minutes from the Aristotelian University, the City Hall, cultural centers and Tsimiski, the city’s fashionable shopping street, defines the area as a meeting point for the inhabitants. An important element of the location plan is that the building becomes a bridge between the city and the seafront. Furthermore, basic aspects of the design are the creation of a green, smart and sustainable architectural environment that motivates people to understand five Senses. The proposed building combines modern architecture with the historical background of ancient Greek civilization such as the ancient Greeks healthcare facilities of Asclepieia, the Greek myth of Narcissus and finally, Art-therapy actions. Furthermore, the design concept derives from the structure and the generating system of cocoons, a traditional element of the area. Finally, the main idea of the project is based on the three key features of healthcare. The key features are prevention, diagnosis and therapy.