Invisibility is essentially a question of transparency.
In 1963 Colin Rowe in his article Transparency: Literal and Phenomenal set the framework: \”At the beginning of any inquiry into transparency, a basic distinction must perhaps be established. Transparency may be an inherent quality of substance- as in a wire mesh or glass curtain wall, or it may be an inherent quality of organization\”. As an organization quality \”transparency means a simultaneous perception of different spatial locations\”.
The complex occupies a whole city block (8.350m2) and consists of seven functionally autonomous but formally continuous buildings. It is situated in Maroussi, an Athenian suburb rapidly transforming into a business and residential metropolitan hub. The three storey volume unfolds over a slightly sloping site totaling an area of 6.500m2, and comprises of 70 apartments, communal spaces and underground parking lots.
The brief we were given called for an exclusive Japanese restaurant and bar in the northern suburbs of Athens. Within the extensive, open-plan space we needed to combine a sushi bar, a cocktail bar and seated dining areas with chic, polished design that would take diners seamlessly from intimate evening dining to more upbeat, late-night socialising.
JewelBOX is a multi use building in Kifisia, Athens, Greece designed by architects Panos Nikolaidis & Errica Protestou.
The jewelBOX accommodates two contradictory concepts. A monolithic mask, the building’s exterior versus a fluid interior. The mask reveals the ground floor volume through an ornamental iron gate. A black rectangular column redirects the visitor towards its two sections.
Alaloum Board Game Cafe is located in Nea Filadelfeia, a suburb in north east of Athens, and addresses board game lovers.
According to Triopton Αrchitects, “the very specific function of board gaming inspires and determines the design concept.”
The café is developed in two levels of total space of 160 sq.m. The concept behind the café is mainly focusing on preserving and enhancing the strict geometries of the structure, thus creating a welcoming, yet subversive environment influenced by the creative imagination and variegation of a board game.
Acknowledging the great value of the cultural and architectural heritage that is present all over the site, overlapping time and space in such a meaningful presence, our quest is to create a quiet and cohesive urban environment that would not be over-imposing or disruptive but one that attempts to unify and add structure to the physical frame. From a distance this central zone is very clearly dominated by three major public spaces – the trilogy Syntagma/Panepistimiou Core/Omonia that are linked by a system of large avenues on which Panepistimiou has the greater role. It seems natural that these places should be considered poles of centrality, as they are focus points of historical relevance. Although these spaces are very diverged in terms of functionality and shape, it seems obvious that they are within themselves places of gathering on which all the flows and social expressions are related to.
We are very proud of winning the important international design competition ‘Re-Think Athens’, towards a new city centre, organized in a very professional way by the Onassis foundation. The team of urbanists, architects and landscape architects of OKRA are very enthusiastic to work on implementing our ideas in Athens. The competition proposal is made by OKRA in collaboration with Mixst Urbanisme and Wageningen University, and supported by Studio 75 and Werner Sobek Green technologies. Within the next months the OKRA team will further develop their ideas into an approved design for the central area in the city centre.
Article source: Andreas Demertzis, Ioannis Katsanos, Thanasis Farangas
The reason for selecting and analyzing this concept was the examination of the area of Athens. The city is characterized by the growth and development of new buildings. Even if those new structures improved the every day life of the residents, the overall effect on the character of the city suffered.
We selected this particular concept because we noticed the negative impact of those urban structures on the landscape of Athens and that the city is “eating away” the landscape. Our intention is to create the opposite effect: for the landscape to merge with the city.
Tags: Athens, Greece Comments Off on Tourkovounia as a Green – Wind Landscape in Athens, Greece by Andreas Demertzis, Ioannis Katsanos, Thanasis Farangas
On a narrow lot with a mildly sloping incline in the northern Athenian suburb of Krioneri, the Cascading U House positions two independent dwellings one on top of the other, for the owners and their daughter.
Image Courtesy Yorgis Yerolymbos
Architects:AREA, Architecture Research Athens
Styliani Daouti, Giorgos Mitroulias, Michaeljohn Raftopoulos
Project: Cascading U Two-Family Residence in Krioneri
This building is located at the suburbs of Athens in the area next to the golf court in Glyfada, andconsists of three one floor apartments of 250m2 each.
Each apartment has two small and one master bedroom. Inside the building there is an atrium that provides light to secondary areas of the apartments whilealso working as a funnel exit for warm air energy consumption in the summer months.
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