Legend has it that the Italian king of Inotrae was the first inhabitant -and first Greek- to settle in the neighboring Appenine peninsula, that would later be named after the mythical colonizer.

Italus, in the commercial heart of Kallithea, Athens, creates an interesting fusion drawing from the products, flavors and traditions of both countries.

The long and narrow plan extends from a busy street to an equally noisy pedestrian lane, first through a double-story interior, then through a low and narrow passageway with a mezzanine, and ultimately to an interior courtyard.

As a response to this challenge, consecutive ground floor spaces are assigned distinct roles: An outdoor lounge, an open façade with an impressive bar welcoming the patrons, an interior private lounge, a cozy, quiet interior courtyard. The distinctive element of all spaces, as well as the feature of the corporate identity, is the “Italian touch”, highlighted by the slender, linear space partitions.

Natural wood and cement, alternating as cladding materials, are joined at an angle, creating interesting V-shapes that define the space’s identity.

The private lounge is designed as a wooden box with a metal skin, bringing light into the formerly dark part of the space. The horizontal perspective is only “disturbed” by the black beams, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plan.

In the background, the interior courtyard, lush in greenery and in diffuse light, creates a hospitable environment that invites visitors to cross through the bar, into an intimate, calm space.

Chadios+Associates

The post Italus was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The distinctive housing development, titled “Voronoi’s Corrals”, benchmarks from the local corral typology, processed with contemporary computation. The design employs Voronoi grids, which are organic and more easily adaptable to data. The house faces south; exposed concrete beams project beyond the facades, shaping Voronoi cells and supporting shading devices. Each cell is covered with soil, planted with a different herb species. Earth provides adequate heat insulation to the interiors, and the colors of the plants highlight the strategy at large. In the interior, the roof is formulated in successive funnels topped with a round skylight for natural ventilation. The idea of the “hourglass”, lending the house its name, informed the design of an architecture that is achieved with contemporary computational means and geometries, aiming to develop the landscape in a similarly natural way as the one that led, perhaps, the corral builders into their peculiar -yet absolutely goal-oriented and place-specific- choices.

DECA architecture

The post Best of 2020: The Hourglass Corral was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The project consists of the remodeling of an existing structure that has been modified several times over the years. When reviewing the archives of the house, traces of the original project designed by the Mexican architect Augusto H. Álvarez in the 50’s were found.

The archtiects decided to align the proposal to the base grid plan of this construction, which assembles the distribution of spaces around four structural axes every four meters. A clean volume was proposed with large glass windows facing the garden and a facade facing the street that would provide security and privacy to the project.

The different levels of the volume mark the sequence of privacy in the spaces of the house. It is accessed on the ground floor from the street through a dimly lit entrance hall, which creates a sculptural effect of dark light through openings with vertical lines on the entrance door, which, crossing it, drift into the living room and dining room that, in turn, connect with kitchen and library. The four bedrooms and the family room are located on the second level. The third floor offers a space dedicated to well-being, which is extended with a large outdoor terrace.

The aim was to evoke the features of modern architecture from the mid-twentieth century through materiality, the exaltation of order and structural elements. The configuration of the spaces seeks the constant perception of openness and connection with the immediate natural context.

The exterior of the project was covered with a dark gray stucco that emphasizes its tectonic and monolithic condition. The interior design derives from generating a contrast against the solidity of the gray stucco, the blacksmithing and the use of stone outside, complemented by the warmth and naturalness generated by the predominance of oak wood, the white finish of the walls and the lighting. indirect to the interior that softens contrasts and neutralizes light, making spaces feel relaxed, fresh, and natural.

The round columns in the middle of the main common area, in addition to be a structural element, are an aesthetic gesture – which refers us to the functionalism of the 1950s – that implicitly divides the dining room. This, incorporated with the vegetation of the garden, creates an atmosphere of tranquility and comfort over the house, which preserves and enhances the neutrality of the project in every aspect.

The choice of furniture and lighting pieces were selected mainly seeking an evocation of the modernist movement of the mid-20th century, with a tonal palette that served to maintain the impartiality of the whole. Thus, furniture covered with fabric in gray and white tones that incorporate wood in tones similar to those prevalent in the space was chosen, a dark marble table accompanied by two Louis Poulsen suspended luminaires that cover, unify and give identity to the dining room, finishing off with a guest bathroom.

The final functionality is consistent with the modulation of the spaces that is perceived from the façade, thus generating an X-ray of the living space of the house that is transformed with the different moments of the day through reflections and transparencies, softening the boundaries between the interior and exterior of the project.

hemaa

Rafael Gamo

The post sierra negra 27 was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.