Attic floors are far from the limit for using VELUX windows. In the new building of the advanced educational center in Sochi, they not only provide the premises with natural light and protect them from bright rays, but also become part of the “space” shell of the building.
The educational center for gifted children "Sirius" was opened in December 2014 on the basis of the "Azimut" hotel, this is one of the successful and promising projects of the post-Olympic Imereti Valley. All year round, successful students in science, sports or art from all over the country come here to learn new things, communicate and grow stronger in the sea air within a month. An intensive training cycle for each shift lasts 24 days, classes are conducted by leading teachers of specialized schools and outstanding cultural figures: Mikhail Piotrovsky, Valery Gergiev, Tatiana Chernigovskaya, Sergei Roldugin and others managed to work at Sirius. One of the key ideas of the center is that children not only receive new knowledge, but also broaden their horizons through friendship and cooperation.
Soon after the launch of the center, it became clear that one building was not enough. In the large park area of the hotel, it was decided to place three more buildings corresponding to the key areas: School (Science), Art and Sport. Studio 44 was invited to design. Studio manager Nikita Yavein says that three main factors influenced the architecture: the nearby complex of Olympic stadiums with their recognizable silhouettes, the mountainous landscape and the name of the center itself, which refers to the brightest star we can see. The streamlined volumes echo the silhouette of the Fisht while evoking associations with sea pebbles and space station design. Also, the shape hides the dimensions and creates a contrast with the hotel building. Despite the impressive size of the building, they resemble pavilion architecture, organically integrated into the park landscape.
The School pavilion, where classrooms and laboratories are located, is connected to the sleeping hotel building by a warm passage. The shape of the "donut" appeared thanks to a huge elm tree, which was considered impossible to cut. “It was the only possible site, optimal in terms of communication with the main building, to accommodate the School, and when we discovered that a beautiful elm was growing on it, I remembered the legends about schools that emerged from conversations between teachers and students in the shade of a tree. We decided to preserve the tree and make it the center and symbol of our “School”, explains Nikita Yavein.
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zooming 1/5 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
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zooming 2/5 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
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zooming 3/5 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
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zooming 4/5 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
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zooming 5/5 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
The new building is designed for 800 people, the "stuffing" corresponds to a futuristic shell: ten laboratories, including a digital science laboratory, an educational complex for scanning probe microscopy with a vacuum plasma installation, and a universal technological workshop. On the second floor, there are universal transformable lecture halls and creative studios. There are more than a dozen recreational areas in the building; children also have a rest in a green courtyard, also intended for open air.
Natural light for focused study, research, and relaxation is a critical component. VELUX roof windows are built into the complex façade "pie", which, thanks to their size and shape, become a continuation of the mosaic pattern of aluminum cladding, participating in the creation of an architectural image.
The classic VELUX GGL 3060 model with glued pine frames uses double-glazed windows with reduced solar energy transmission, which prevent overheating of the room and protect from too intense light. Some of the windows are made in the Integra configuration with a built-in remote opening drive, which also react to rain and close automatically.
Since Sochi is located in the seismic risk zone with the highest index in Russia of nine points, it is not unimportant that the window structures were tested at the V. A. Kucherenko for seismic stability and received a positive conclusion. VELUX windows have been installed in all classrooms and recreational areas of the new building.
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zooming 1/4 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
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zooming 2/4 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
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zooming 3/4 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
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zooming 4/4 Educational center for gifted children "Sirius". School building © Studio 44
The School building was opened in August 2019, and the Sports and Art buildings are to be completed by December 2021. A program is also being discussed to create a new university complex on the basis of Sirius, and possibly a large-scale educational and cultural cluster of the Imereti Valley.
