One Athens residential complex at the foot of the Lycabettus hill constitutes a legendary building for Athens and its architecture. The modernist building -designed in 1957, by the prominent Greek architect Constantinos Doxiadis (1913-1975) and fully completed in 1971- served as the Doxiadis Associates headquarters till the late 1990s. The 2014 transformation of the listed office complex to a residential development introduced a new building type and scale to the city dominated by the ‘polykatoikia’ typology.
The complete renovation of the double aspect 5th-floor ‘L’-shape apartment aspires to accommodate the contemporary needs for living, by paying respect to the existing architecture. The reorganization of the plan is simple and explicit; an open ‘public’ zone, including the dining, living and kitchen area as well as an office extension; and a ‘private’ zone, including a guest niche and the master bedroom with walk-through bathroom and closet.
The intentional absence of walls enhances the idea of a fluid, flexible and continuous space. What prevails instead are scattered vertical elements facilitating the dwelling’s utilities, and services. Rooms’ divisions are implied by timber glass full height translucent sliding panels allowing for enclosure and privacy. Ultimately, the large terrazzo floor slabs delineate a seamless surface enhancing the space’s continuity.
The original building’s modular façade was once meant to serve corporate office needs with abundant yet filtered Mediterranean natural light and controlled natural ventilation. Today, the new open plan organization connects the two glazed wings of the 'L' shaped apartment: the one facing towards the central atrium and the other towards the street. Thus, the apartment enjoys the unobstructed immediacy to the eminent Athenian context: through the atrium and towards the northwest, the lush presence of the Lycabettus hill, while to the southeast, above the polykatoikias’ rooftops in the foreground, the Acropolis, and the Saronic Gulf panorama beyond.
