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NEW COLORS FOR THE OLD SCHOOL
Nadya Stamatova and Katya Angelova
 
This project is a part of the second stage of the �Beautiful Bulgaria project� particularly of the �Beautiful Varna project� financed by The World Bank. Eight public buildings in Varna were listed for reconstruction of their facades: the Archaeological museum, the Muppet Theater and Museum, the Center of Contemporary Art, the Library for Middle Schools, and four schools. One of the latter is the subject of our work and present report. The school is located at bus stop �Pochivka� on the highway from Varna to the vacation resorts �St. St. Constantine and Helene� and �Golden Sands�. The reconstruction work will be completed in August 2000 year.

The building was designed in 1967. It consist of 3 blocks: south-eastern that contains the classrooms; north-eastern where the gymnasium is situated; and the south-western where the acting hall is. The three blocks are connected with two passages and the whole building is U-shaped. Its opened side is planned for outside sport activities. The main entrance, which is on the south-eastern side, faces the sea. Construction work continued until the second half of the 70-s. The connection to the acting hall was built later, thus leveling its facade with the one of the classrooms block.

Before starting the design work for the project we had a meeting with the schools� headmasters and psychologist, and after that made an inquiry (color.xls, 70KB) in both schools for determining the color and style preferences of the students. The inquiry was made in two parts: a detailed one and a summary. The answers did not equal the number of the participating students because many of them made several suggestions, and others did not have an opinion. Each mentioning of a certain color was written as a single option. Aesthetic views change noticeably with the age of the students. An option offered by us was accepted by the younger students and denied by the middle and upper level students. Therefore, our decision was based on the inquiry�s summarized results. J-Preparatory Class gave the most interesting answers, as a group and as a individuals. Some of the students have non-standard aesthetic views, as for example G. Toshev. In addition to the color painting of the school, another matter of discussion with the headmasters� staff was the eventual preservation of the �Revelation Wall�. The options were contradictory. In any case, we as project designers decided to preserve this wall as a self-expression through graffiti and we offer to use the entire end wall to its full height. The rest of the walls where graffiti are usually spread, we intend to cover with anti-graffiti layer, thanks to which they can be wiped out with a wet sponge.

The color scheme of the building is calculated mathematically. The volume is divided into surfaces. The walls are white, while the pilasters and the coves (the window recessions) are in two colors: A and B. We have tried to interpret the colors according to the summarized results of the inquiry. The biggest percent of the students, 28%, preferred the blue color and 14% the yellow color (incl. the ocher color by 3%). Horizontal volume tric elements, including also parts that project out of the system, are painted with 1/2A+1/2B, i.e. in this case with green, which had 13% of the votes and was placed third (excluding the white achromatic color). The same idea could also be implemented in a blue-purple-red scale, however as it is seen from the inquiry�s results, it is not the preferred one (12% are for the red and purple against 27% for the yellow and green).

The long facades of the classroom block are split into 3 sections painted in three different colors in order to reach an optical shortening of the facades. The end walls are painted in blue and yellow in accordance with the idea that the warm geographic side should be in a cold color, and the cold side-in a warm color. The window recessions are painted in three colors: the concaves -in blue and yellow, the lintel and the sill-in the moderate green color. This, as well as the painting of the pilasters in two colors, adds to an unexpected dynamic effect when looking at the building from different angles. In this way it changes together with the viewpoint. Turning to the left, we see the blue stripes of the pilasters and the coves on a large yellow background. Looking to the right we see yellow stripes on a blue background.

We have included in our project the sign boards indicating the particular languages included in the school�s program, as well as its banners, both according to the inquiry�s results. We offer the sign boards with the names of the high schools to be replaced with permanent inscriptions on both fronts of a metal roof above the main entrance, which are missing so far.

The paints that we have available are Bulgarian and produced by Orgachim-Rousse. The yellow, the green and the blue colors are water-based facade paints numbers, 2204, 3204, and 2703, corresponding to 2030-Y30R (20% black, 50% white, 30% color, out of which 70% yellow and 30% red), 2020-G10Y (20% black, 60% white, 20% color, out of which 90% green and 10% yellow), 2030-R90B(20% black, 50% white, 50% color, out of which 10% black and 90% blue) of NCS system, related to ISO 9002 standard.