Multiplying space

“Humans are endowed with great versatility as a species, because we are adaptable to any kind of space.”

 

Design Philosophy

Designing for a specific client, always entails personalized approaches to functionality and taste. Talking with the owner of this 42m² apartment in Taiwan about his own desires and needs, made us feel that the space available was simply not enough.

 

 

Interior Layout

To accommodate the program, we made a site-specific classification of activities into “predictable”, “unpredictable” and “adaptable”. An example of space assigned to predictable activities is the kitchen and the dining table, which involve standard functions. Unpredictable activities are structured around leisure, such as watching TV, dining and having a conversation; those always involve active decision-making by the users.

Adaptable activities are the most interesting ones, considering their requirements for space: we lie down when sleeping, or sit when working and reading, but stand up when walking. Predicting the positions of a body in such a framework, provided the key to our design.

 

 

Custom Structures

This strategy was helpful but still inadequate, therefore we suggested multifunctional configurations: our design approach integrates different uses. For example, we combined the open kitchen with a rotating dining table: Besides working as a unit, they may function individually, to accommodate separate needs. So does the wall, that provides mobile storage to meet with the owner’s temporary usage needs.

 

Theatrical character

The design of a bar-restaurant in Kolonaki offers an opportunity to craft a space that bridges the memories and history of the neighborhood with the forward-looking vision its residents hold for the future.

 

Design Philosophy

The space’s intensely theatrical character, with its high ceilings and bright atmosphere, combined with its dual function as a bar and restaurant, inspired a strategic design choice: the creation of an arcade that not only traverses but also divides the space. This elongated arcade seamlessly connects the front pedestrian area with the rear zones, including the acrylic section and the garden. Simultaneously, it acts as a longitudinal stage, mediating between the bar and dining areas. The restaurant’s elevated levels amplify the sense of theatricality, enhancing the interplay of glances between different sides. The elongated bar runs the full length of the arcade, forming a continuous link between the front sidewalk and the rear glazed garden.

 

Material Palette

The existing concrete shell has been deconstructed and layered with timber, creating a new structure within the original framework. The material palette is enriched with black sheet metal, featured prominently in the staircase and the bar, while the floors and the bar mirror are adorned with the characteristic Tinos marble. More specifically, marble slabs, meticulously cut from a single block, were arranged to achieve seamless continuity and an impression of grandeur.

 

Spatial Atmosphere

The ambiance of the space emerges from a thoughtful collage that blends two elements: the nostalgic charm of Kolonaki’s old shops and a vision of how such a space might evolve in the future. Classic materials like marble and wood, once hallmarks of the area’s shops, are seamlessly combined with modern materials and techniques, including crushed concrete, black sheet metal, and black mosaic. This fusion creates a relaxed and inviting atmosphere, evoking a sense of memory while simultaneously embracing forward-looking innovation.

Spatial cohesion

The project involves transforming a classic 1970s detached house in a suburban area of Thessaloniki to better accommodate the contemporary needs of its new inhabitants.

 

Design Philosophy

The project’s restoration is centered around key principles: the building’s connection to its surroundings, as well as its bioclimatic, aesthetic, and functional enhancement through a combination of enclosed, transitional, and open spaces. While preserving the existing structure, an effort is made to distinguish between the two-storey and single-storey volumes. Specifically, the two-storey volume maintains its solid characteristics, while the walls of the single-storey volume are demolished, thus creating a series of large openings to increase natural light in the bedrooms.

 

Landscape Design

A key project decision is the restoration of the ground floor’s elevation in relation to the garden. With this adjustment, along with the addition of sunshades and large windows, the interior and exterior spaces now function as a unified whole, offering visual and functional continuity. This creates inviting transitions from the interior of the house to the garden. Additionally, the old wooden canopies are replaced with new aluminum structures featuring pivoting and fixed sunshades, forming pleasant transitional spaces and “outdoor rooms” for seating and dining.

 

Circulation Spaces

The main entrance is now accessed via a curved, “S”-shaped path designed to maximize the open space of the front courtyard. This path highlights the garden’s most prominent feature, a cedar tree, which serves as the focal point of the garden’s design. Ultimately, the interventions to the building’s shell and its surroundings, along with the interior renovations (including the addition of an elevator, upgrades to electrical and mechanical systems, and new finishes), significantly extend the building’s lifespan.

Parallel arrangement

The project is situated on a seaside plot, with the objective of constructing three houses for tourist use. A central element of the design is the arrangement of the residences in a parallel layout, all oriented toward the sea. These three linear volumes are designed to appear as if they are sliding between walls of exposed concrete, creating a striking architectural feature.

 

Morphological Elements

The two-story residences are defined by the openness of the ground floor, which features a continuous, permeable space. A glass slit in the ceilings, running parallel to the concrete walls, allows natural light to flood the staircase and the entire home, highlighting its linear design. This feature not only enhances the sense of spaciousness but also offers visual connections in all directions, serving as a unifying element between the two floors.

 

Accessibility & Circulation Areas

The corner house can be accessed from the road on the east side, leading into an open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area that opens to a corner glass door offering panoramic sea views. In the second and third houses, the entrance is located in the rear courtyard, where visitors enter into a spacious open-plan kitchen, dining, and sitting area beneath the skylights in the roof above, with views directed toward the sea.

The living room seamlessly extends to the front balcony, with full width glazing that blurs the line between interior and exterior spaces. Suspended metal stairs, set against a backdrop of exposed concrete walls, lead to the first-floor bedrooms. The master bedrooms, positioned on the seaward side, feature glass walkways that span the entire width of the room, enhancing the sense of openness and connection to the view.

 

Façade Design & Privacy

The terrace is enclosed by walls that ensure the occupants’ privacy while creating a striking volumetric feature in the overall view. This design element is echoed in all three residences, where a white cube projects outward, set apart from the concrete wall. In the corner house, the porch is distinct, extending linearly along the entire length of the residence, adding to its unique character.

A perforated ceramic lattice wall, positioned at the edge of the east-side balcony, serves as a privacy screen while accentuating the building’s linear form. The material palette consists of exposed concrete, metal, and white plaster. Each house features a small swimming pool in the garden facing the sea, while the site is enclosed by low walls around the perimeter to preserve unobstructed views from all points, even at ground level.

Transitional spaces

The private vacation home is located on the western side of Antiparos, facing the sea, enjoying unobstructed views of the nearby island of Paros.

 

Design Approach

Antiparos keeps limited exposure to mass tourism, and the visitors, the island caters to for seasonal stay require their vacation homes to be equipped with the same amenities they are accustomed to from living in the city. Concurrently, the site is bound by strict building regulations regarding the form and materials of new constructions, because of its adjacency to the vernacular Ayia Kyriaki chapel.

 

Interior & Exterior Organization

The building is laid out on one level only, bringing together the seasonal inhabitants and the outstanding Cycladic landscape. The floors extend seamlessly from the indoor to the outdoor areas; this connection is further highlighted by generous transitional spaces, sheltered under pergolas. The openings, whose number and size had to be kept limited due to local regulations, provide views and outdoor connections to all the main rooms; dark shutters on their inner side are consistent with the local building tradition. The lounge, the kitchen, and the master bedroom are oriented towards the view, together with the outdoor living spaces and the swimming pool.

 

Material & Lighting

Inside, all walls are clad in grey facing applied by hand; strategically positioned openings on the ceiling bring abundant natural light to the interior, illustrating the rustic treatment of the vertical surfaces, whose appearance changes according to the time of the day. The color palette of the furniture includes opposing black and white tones, complemented by the texture of natural wood and woven straw. The hard surface of the floor is treated in cement facing and comes at a stark contrast to the natural sloping ground.

Artisanal local stone on the exterior surface of the walls, matched with sensible, discreet landscaping, complete the architectural impression, whose objective is to remain consistent with the principles of traditional island building. The biggest challenge in this project was to merge tradition with modernity, high architectural aesthetics with cutting-edge mechanical equipment; at all times, the reference had to be the sparse Cycladic landscape, local materials and relaxed island living.

The nest

The property is in Ayios Yannis, at Kostos village in Paros. It benefits from a southeastern orientation on its long side, with a view of the sea and the gulf of Naxos.

 

Landscape Integration

The building, touching upon the hillside, adapts to the terrain contours following the ground morphology, and becomes almost encaved on its west side. Angular walls allude to the dry-stone retaining walls which are ubiquitous in the Cyclades, forming a shell that maintains a beneficial microclimate under any weather conditions.

The house features the double character of an architecture that is at once integrated into the landscape geometries and a wall that generates living spaces; it is expressed in a façade delineating the levels and organizes living and viewing areas. The design does not follow the typical white volume clustering, but instead defines a series of patios, walkways, enclosed courtyards, descents and connecting stairs behind a white wall.

 

 

Spatial Organization

Special attention was given to the “fifth” façade, which involves the roofs, while the design is dominated by repetition and standardization of the openings. The west side, at the highest point of the property, accommodates a descending entrance that leads to the heart of the compound. An elongated hallway connects the rooms of the main building, opening framed views to cape Kefalos in Paros and the neighboring island of Naxos, through selected openings on the southeastern façade.

 

 

Circulation Routes

The descent through the interior to the wide outdoor terrace of the living quarters is a gradual transition to the framed landmarks of the Aegean, from within the building to the panorama from the terrace: Naoussa, Naxos town, cape Antikefalon, the western side of Naxos, Kastraki, Iraklia and Ios unfold before the eyes of the onlooker. The courtyards, paved in mosaics, are created next to the living spaces, and follow the natural inclination of the terrain.

The enclosed yard on the west side is immediately connected to the living room, which, together with the kitchen and the two bedrooms, enjoys a sea view; a lower level accommodates a subterranean guest house. The architectural expression results from the use of natural elements, fills in voids redefining necessities, images and living spaces; it acts as a complement, embracing the surface of the landscape tightly, taking root, becoming an integral part of the surroundings.

 

Colorful shell

The inspiration for the design of this new restaurant is the concept of the Japanese Izakaya “standing sake shop” delivering a space that encapsulates the essence of this experience.

 

Circulation Space

Upon entering, visitors are encouraged to make their first stop at the bar. Following a circular route, they can observe the preparation of cold dishes, the activity in the open kitchen, as well as the making of hot dishes on the robata. The goal is to create a sense of participation in a workshop focused on mixing drinks and experiencing Japanese flavors. To achieve this, minimal, clean materials commonly found in a workshop space -stainless steel for the work surfaces and Corian for the seating counters- are used.

 

Material Selection

The choice of white on the counters and tables creates a backdrop for the strictly geometric and well-arranged dishes, which vary in colour and shape, creating an interesting sight for the visitor, who is on the same level as the chef, watching the food preparation process. The most dominant element is the circular staircase clad in glass blocks to create a luminous cylinder that connects the basement to the loft. Glass blocks are also used on the wall that separates the hall from the kitchen, creating a translucent divider through which movement becomes visible.

 

Lighting Design

Particular attention was placed on the lighting design. Beam spots were used for the bar and food surfaces. Apart from the eccentric staircase and the lighting on the ikebana compositions featured on the interior façade, the rest of the space is discretely illuminated, amplifying the restaurant’s relaxed atmosphere.