Ioanna Vlachaki

SPIN47 is a raw yet refined transformation of a former industrial retail space in Neos Kosmos, Athens, reimagined as a flexible live–work environment. Designed by Ioanna Vlachaki Studio, the 100-square-metre project unfolds across a ground floor, mezzanine and basement, accommodating domestic life, creative production, gatherings and artist residencies within a single, continuously adaptable space. While the architectural concept and spatial strategy were developed by the studio, the client Alice De Nardi— an architect specializing in raw and bio-based materials — offered an initial guiding direction. Her expertise informed the project’s sensitivity towards material honesty, ecological thinking and the treatment of existing conditions, shaping a shared design language from the outset.

The intervention preserves and enhances the existing industrial character. Paint was locally stripped from the walls, revealing layers of time and use, while all electrical installations were redesigned as visible elements, expressed through galvanized steel conduits as an integral part of the architectural language. The original mosaic floors were carefully restored and retained across all levels, reinforcing continuity and memory. In the basement, the walls were treated with ecological lime plaster — a decision and application undertaken by the client herself, drawing on her expertise in moisture control and breathable construction techniques. This hands-on intervention reinforces the project’s deeply material-driven and craft-oriented ethos. The three levels are connected by a sculptural circular metal staircase, functioning both as circulation and as a strong vertical spatial marker.

The ground floor hosts the main studio, kitchen, living and dining areas, conceived as a single open field capable of constant transformation. Given the space’s role as a workshop, social area and event venue, flexibility became a primary design driver. The kitchen counter, positioned against the rear blind wall, is the only fixed element. Minimal and self-supported, it anchors a series of movable lacquered MDF modules beneath it. These elements are not merely sculptural but rigorously functional, operating as kitchen storage, dining tables, coffee tables, exhibition plinths or podiums depending on use. Furniture becomes infrastructure, enabling the space to be reprogrammed effortlessly. Full-height textile roller blinds provide privacy along the double-height glazed façades, allowing the ground floor to shift from open and public to intimate and enclosed when required. New beige-painted metal elements — including the reconstructed façades, the circular staircase and a structural beam introduced beneath the mezzanine — coexist with preserved original components, creating a dialogue between permanence and transformation.

The mezzanine accommodates the most private function of the project: the bedroom. Oriented towards the south, the sleeping area is organized around a monolithic MDF volume that integrates the bed and storage into a single, coherent object. While sculptural in presence, the volume is fundamentally driven by use. Clean orthogonal lines, lacquered finishes and precise proportions allow the piece to function simultaneously as bed, wardrobe and architectural partition — a restrained and calm counterpoint to the rawness of the surrounding envelope.

The basement operates at the threshold between private and communal space. Its primary function is the bathroom, conceived not as a conventional enclosed room, but as an autonomous, monolithic object placed within the open plan. Clad entirely in ceramic tiles, the bathroom volume integrates all functions — two open showers, a bathtub and a closed WC — into a single sculptural yet highly functional form. A marble counter for the washbasin enhances the tactile quality of the space. The experience evokes that of a hammam: intimate yet collective, exposed yet protected, transforming bathing into a sensory and ritualistic act. Every junction, edge and tile intersection was meticulously designed, ensuring that the object’s sculptural clarity is matched by ergonomic precision and everyday usability.

SPIN47 is defined by a holistic design approach that operates from the macro scale of spatial organization to the micro scale of construction detail. The project relies on a limited number of crucial, monolithic and transformable elements — both fixed and mobile — that give each level its own narrative, atmosphere and functional identity. By preserving and elevating the raw, industrial fragments of the existing space while introducing carefully designed multifunctional objects, SPIN47 becomes both deeply personal and openly collective. It is a space for living, making, gathering and creating — one that reflects the individuality and expertise of its owner while remaining adaptable, open and shared.

Athens, 2025.