Ioanna Vlachaki

Located in a transitional part of Athens between Victoria, Amerikis Square, Patission and the edge of Kypseli, the 90 sq.m. top-floor apartment occupies a typical Athenian apartment building from the 1960s. The project transforms a conventional middle-class layout into a contemporary residence through a dialogue between the existing architectural fabric and a restrained industrial language.

Originally organized as two bedrooms, a living room, an independent kitchen and a bathroom, the apartment was reconfigured around the dual identity of its owner, combining the familiarity of Athenian domesticity with a restrained industrial sensibility rooted in Northern European design.  The intervention embraces the identity of the existing apartment, allowing original elements and contemporary additions to coexist within a unified architectural language. 

The restored timber flooring, terrazzo surfaces, balconies and generous natural light preserve the memory of the original apartment, while stainless steel, painted metal and carefully detailed joinery introduce a precise contemporary vocabulary. The project embraces the imperfections of the existing shell, proposing a new spatial identity through subtraction rather than replacement.

The plan is organised around a clear distinction between public and private areas. A centrally positioned entrance divides the apartment into two autonomous zones: an open living space connected to the terrace and a quieter sequence of bedrooms and bathroom.

The social area opens completely towards a generous west-facing terrace through a newly enlarged façade opening, dissolving the boundary between interior and exterior and extending the living space towards the Athenian skyline. Kitchen, dining, living and library are conceived as a continuous landscape where furniture becomes architecture rather than separate objects.

At the centre of the apartment, a sculptural kitchen island anchors the open plan. Constructed from stainless steel and off-white timber, it consolidates storage, preparation and everyday use within a single architectural volume. Its geometry follows the traces of the original floor plan, preserving the memory of previous rooms while establishing a new spatial order.

Throughout the apartment, concealed doors are integrated flush with walls and joinery, reinforcing the continuity of surfaces and the overall architectural clarity.

Custom-designed furniture plays a central role in defining the project. A vivid blue sheet-metal shelving system introduces a strong sculptural presence within the otherwise restrained material palette. Functioning simultaneously as storage, display and sculpture, it becomes one of the apartment’s defining architectural elements.

The custom dining table was designed specifically for the project as an extension of the architecture itself. Its monolithic geometry references the sculptural precision of Donald Judd while remaining rooted in construction and material logic. Positioned within the open plan, it establishes the dining area as the centre of daily life and reinforces the continuity between furniture and the restored timber floor.

Materiality is deliberately limited. Existing wood and terrazzo floors are restored, while stainless steel, Dionysos marble, white mosaic tiles and off-white finishes create a calm and cohesive palette. Each material contributes equally to the balance between permanence and contemporary intervention.

Within the private quarters, the bathroom is conceived as a ceramic volume lined entirely in white mosaic tiles. The material recalls the familiar surfaces of older Athenian apartments while reinterpreting them through a minimal and highly controlled architectural language. The bedrooms remain deliberately restrained, allowing proportion, light and materiality to define the atmosphere.

The project builds its identity through careful coexistence: old and new, local and international, raw and refined. Architecture, interior and furniture are conceived as a single composition, resulting in a residence that is both deeply rooted in Athens and unmistakably contemporary.

Athens, 2026.