Historic and Constructional Aspects of Stone Schools in Greece: The Case of the Aristotle Municipality in Chalkidiki

Abstract

Historic schools, built during the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century, were evolved according to the wider socio-economic changes that took place at regional, national and international level. Their construction usually followed specific principles, governed by their functional role and structural safety requirements. In this study, the historical background of school buildings in Greece is given, in an effort to assess their evolution and physiognomy. To this direction, 14 historic school buildings, located in the Aristotle Municipality of Chalkidiki, N. Greece, were studied, taking into account their architectural and constructional characteristics. These buildings were erected from 1871 up to 1958 and are nowadays mostly used as elementary schools. In some cases, they are in second use or abandoned. They concerned 1 up to 3 storeys buildings, with rectangular ground plan, symmetrically organized around a main corridor. Their size and dimensions varied according to their capacity. From the beginning of the 30’s, supplementary elements of reinforced concrete (slabs, beams) were added, in combination with the existing building techniques. Nowadays, they are generally preserved in good state, due to the consecutive interventions taken place during their service life. However, their documentation and identification as heritage structures should be further assessed, in order to convey the tangible and intangible values they incorporate in the next generations.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of a Historic and a Modern School Building, Located in the City of Naoussa, Greece

“…Historic schools started to be erected during the 18th century, while their construction was systemized at the end of the 19th century [1][2][3][4][5][6]. They were mainly built with stone masonry, following the diachronic principles of construction and applying locally available raw materials [5,6].…”

“…Historic schools started to be erected during the 18th century, while their construction was systemized at the end of the 19th century [1][2][3][4][5][6]. They were mainly built with stone masonry, following the diachronic principles of construction and applying locally available raw materials [5,6]. At the beginning of the 20th century, secondary concrete elements started to be used, so as to enhance the stability of the structures, such as floor plates, beams and columns [2,[6][7][8].…”

“…They were mainly built with stone masonry, following the diachronic principles of construction and applying locally available raw materials [5,6]. At the beginning of the 20th century, secondary concrete elements started to be used, so as to enhance the stability of the structures, such as floor plates, beams and columns [2,[6][7][8]. In all cases, the ground plan of the buildings played an important role, including a symmetric allocation of the inner spaces and distribution of the openings [8][9][10][11].…”

“…Nowadays, there is a great stock of historic school buildings in Europe that still function as schools, are used for a secondary purpose (i.e., cultural centers or museums) or are abandoned [2,6,[9][10][11][12][13][14]. Their abandonment, due to structural damages they confronted or abolition of the hosted school unit, usually leads to the aggravation of their preservation state.…”

“…The values encompassed in their structure are multiple (historic, architectural, constructional, educational) since they have been diachronically the educational and cultural landmarks of their area [6]. In the case of rural settlements, schools were usually erected in prominent locations (often in the city center), serving as a social key element of their development.…”