ATHENS DANCE SCHOOL
2015 - The Athens Dance School is owned and lead by Thodoris Panas, a talented and prolific Greek performer. His request was to design a welcoming, modern space that would inspire student dancers to stay in the space, work, learn, be creative and have fun. The old factory that shelters the Dance School was built in stages from 1950-1970. The shell of the building consists of large reinforced concrete beams and columns and wide, tall windows and doors, that were characteristic of that industrial era in Greece. Both elements allow for a lot of light to flow and spread in the space. The floor is of cement mosaic, again a common material used locally in the 50's. These features were essential for the new design. It was important that the light and the openness of the space would be preserved and accentuated. The school required two large teaching spaces, a reception space, an office, a small apartment, a cafe and spacious changing rooms. For the aforementioned reasons a decision was made to keep the teaching facilities on the tallest and most open space of the building and the auxiliary space parallel to them. The auxiliary spaces that surround the teaching rooms create units with a cubist architectural approach. White walls help the light bounce off the surfaces and heighten the levels of light and space. Using white on the walls and black on metal elements allows for the structure of the old factory to be re-traced. The color simplicity allows for the dancers to be the star actors of the space. Their movements and their colorful costumes will enrich and give an effortless flow to the interior. 
The big curve of the first teaching room and the mirroring curve of the reception desk adds to the fluidity and creates a “funnel” through which one enters the teaching area. The rich light that showers the entrance space is reminiscent of the “green house”. Consequently it was designed as an internal garden, with colored plastic sofas and armchairs (the flowers) and a grass carpet. This adds a fun factor to the space for the users and visitors. It is child-friendly, durable and flexible. The external facade reflects the interior with its black and white palette but is overpowered by the bright yellow panel that indicates the entrance of the dance school and also conveys the playfulness, creativeness and optimism of such an artistic institute.