Artworks at the forefront
Enveloped between the neighbourhoods of Exarcheia and Kolonaki, right by the footsteps of Lycabettus hill in Athens, this residential renovation took place in a typical 1970's two-bedroom apartment. The 85-sqm property was transformed to be the home of two young professionals both working at the intersection of the arts and communication industries. Due to their occupation, their passion for art and as they travel a lot, the duo holds an extensive collection of carefully selected artworks, design pieces and inherited furniture. It was thus expected that the apartment would host a diverse constellation of objects from around the world. Before the initiation of the project studies, we received a particularly thorough and targeted brief explaining the above, which facilitated and reinforced the design process.

Revival of the Overlooked
Immersed in materiality, colour, form and light, the renovation aims at creating a quintessentially contemporary Greek aesthetic, thus reflecting today's local multicultural and ethnographic diversity, emerging art scene, and recognition of – until recently – overlooked design and heritage elements. It was our client's request – with which we fully aligned – to preserve and restore any valuable original features of the apartment and incorporate them into the design, including the brown marble and colourful terrazzo floors, as well as the old carved marble sink. Since our team was also asked to remodel the floorplan layout, we took advantage of this opportunity to bring as much natural light as possible deep into the apartment, by removing the longitudinal partition walls. The design unifies the sitting area with the dining, the kitchen and the entryway, creating an open, fluid and interconnected space. Key to organise this open-plan space was to design and insert bespoke elements, and let domestic life flow around them.

Elements of Domestic Life
By entering the apartment, the visitor encounters a white metal structure, which we designed in order to create a very unique place for some of the residents' favourite artworks. This hallway furniture is built in the place where the old longitudinal wall stood, separating the entryway from the apartment's corridor. The marriage of this contemporary installation with the original brick wall of the apartment was of significant importance both for the design concept and the construction process. As such, during construction we preserved a designated large piece of the wall, and then fabricated around it the metal furniture, allowing space for an artwork to be displayed in an enhancing fashion, welcoming the visitors into the apartment.

Cooking is an important daily ritual for the residents. The large, bespoke, tiled kitchen island, situated between the dining area and the kitchen counter becomes the transitional centerpiece and the epicenter of the every-day life. The island’s shape creates a comfortable working zone where daily activities can take place in parallel with cooking, as the kitchen’s stove is placed onto the island's counter-top. At the island's lower periphery, carefully designed nooks and hand-crafted marble shelves allow for storage of appliances, cookbooks and artworks. Atop, a longitudinal, suspended white metal structure defines the space between the kitchen and the dining room, and creates an intriguing play of light and shadow with its open shelves.

Honey-stained, oak veneered cupboards become the backdrop of the cooking scenery. With their peculiar shape, the cupboards are designed around the existing airshaft window and a new transom window that brings natural light into the previously dark bathroom located behind the kitchen. A second transom window on the wall of the study room illuminates the entryway, thus revealing the whole depth of the apartment. This transom window bathes the interior space with natural light throughout the day as sun moves from the north-east facing bedroom and the study room to the south-west facing living areas.