Platform house
Our main gesture for this sloped site was to establish a single “platform” containing a large expanse of water (the “beach”) and to place across it the living areas of the house. The sleeping areas are located above, on the first floor, while auxiliary uses at the underground level, with access from the lowest street of the plot. From the higher street side, because of the fence, the plot appears empty -only trees and scrubs are discernible: the visitor’s sight can’t perceive the first floor of the bedrooms that is placed rather low, emulating a ground-floor residence from the street side –while the living areas and the pool (the platform) are actually placed one level down. After the fence, the only perceptible part of the house (apart from the sheltered bedrooms, filtered with blinds) is a glass lobby that receives visitors and is reflected in a lake of water lilies. The project layers three elements: the lake, the glass lobby and the patio. In the patio -with its ground level one level below, a plum tree emerges and, filtering the distant view of Athens, it is also reflected in the water lily pond. On the entry side, on the glass façade of the lobby three images overlap: the reflection of the pond upon the visitor’s image at the lobby, upon the plum tree behind the lobby. If we “removed” the lobby and the plum tree, the distant view of the city would be fully visible (no sleeping rooms would interfere) but the succession of all these images layered upon the glass, filters the view of Athens to a high percentage. A linear internal staircase leads the visitor down a level: from the lobby to the back of the atrium and from there to the living areas that open towards the “beach.” From the living areas, the view to the beach and Athens is now unhindered -it is even framed by a pergola that shades a linear deck on the left hand side. In the form of a promontory, this shady area takes up all the activities around the “beach” – it goes up to the edge of the water at the virtual end of the plot, where the mild slope of the ground turns into a steep slope towards the road. The finishes employ wooden elements and achieve a sense of lightness for walls and ceilings.
- Status Ongoing
- Year 2021 - 2022
- Location Athens