Peiou’ Building

    Area: North of Sakuleva

    Street and number: 7 Heroes 1944

    Year: Second half of the 19th century (before 1882)

    View from Southwest (Economou, Papayannakis & Stoyos, 2013: 51)

    Peiou’ building is a three-storey block of flats, located at the heart of the historic center of the city of Florina and counting at least one hundred and twenty-five years of life. It was built in the second half of the 19th century by the painter and wheatbird Ioannis Peio – Bogiatzis and, according to the owner, is the first Christian house in the surrounding area.

    It is a rare example of the local architecture of the late Turkish occupation in Florina and presents an important architectural and folkloric example of a traditional bourgeois residence, considered to be preserved by Decree No 5022 / 2-2 1998 of the Minister of Macedonia of Thrace (Papayannakis, 2016).

    The last level of the building was never completed, because the Ottomans banned its use because it was neighboring the Muslim district and the mosque of the market. The reason for this prohibition was only the location of the building, but also the height from which one could observe the Muslims in the inner courtyards of their houses (Oikonomou, Papagiannakis & Stoyos, 2013: 47-58).

    The premises of the building are structured on four levels above the ground and one below it (Papayannakis, 2016).

    Κατασκευαστική δομή (Οικονόμου, Παπαγιαννάκης & Στόιος, 2013: 53).

    • Basement: Located approximately 1.10 m below the pavement height. Access is made by a stone staircase from the gallery on the ground floor.
    • Spaces: Cellar, Warehouse.
    • Entrance: Located at the height of the pavement. Ground floor: It is 0.80 m taller than the entry point and is, along with the entrance, the ground floor of the building. Venues: Entrance – Arcade (eastern side), Winter room, Galley (west side).
    • First floor: Access is through a wooden C-shaped staircase, which starts from the elevated part of the Mediterranean and consists of 13 steps, 1 m wide. Areas: Closed Hagiati (Sophas), Winter Room (Good Room), Two (2) Summer Rooms (Good Ontas).
    • 2nd floor: Access is through a 15-foot wooden staircase. Rooms: Indoor Hagiati (Sofas), Three (3) Rooms.
    • 3rd Floor: The last floor of the building has never been completed.

    Courtyard: Access to the auxiliary areas of the courtyard, built to facilitate the professional activities of the family, is made by the door of the ground floor porch. Areas: Dye Building, Wheat Warehouse Building, Sanitary Ware.

    Building: stone in the basement and perimeter on the ground floor, while the rest of the walls are woodcuts (tsetsamades).

    Κάτοψη ισογείου. Υλικά τοιχοποιών (Οικονόμου, Παπαγιαννάκης & Στόιος, 2013: 53)

    External wood-walled walls are filled with stone and mud, while the internal walls are made of oak bricks (unfinished bricks that have dried in the sun and the air). The floors are wooden. The ceilings are sometimes painted, sometimes wooden boards and sometimes the floors of the upper floor.

    Roof: The roof of the building is simple four-story.

    Wheat storage: Located on the east side of the building and consists of vertical wooden columns and horizontal planks.

    Dye: Its masonry consists of baked bricks and its thickness varies between 20 – 60 cm.

    Bibliography

    Oikonomou, A., Papayannakis, M. & Stoyos, a. (2013). FOR FLORINA. Architectural Landscapes of the Past. Florina: Museum of Contemporary Art Florina, pp. 47-58.

    Papayannakis, M. (2016). The Pei building at the heart of the historic center of Florina. Florina: Public Central Library of Florina “Vasiliki Pitoska”.