Tour House D in Athens, where interiors are peachy keen
Designed by Cometa Architects, House D in Athens is full of curvy, colourful character
![Athens house D interior with peach coloured stairs](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/knBYj5E7qFtzxEuc3pURJC-415-80.jpg)
House D began life in the 1960s. The Athenian dwelling was built for private clients in solid concrete in the northern neighbourhood of Holargos in the Greek capital – and it has now been transformed to suit modern needs through a creative redesign by Spain and Greece-based studio Cometa Architects.
Step inside House D in Athens
Spanning 150 sq m, the new home's volume sits on the original structure's footprint and foundations, reusing its bones to fit the fresh design. Portions of the slabs were cut to create double-height spaces, while a new steel structure was added to ensure the house is suitably sturdy and safe in the context of the region's high seismic activity.
The architects, led by founders Faidra Matziaraki and Victor Gonzalez Marti, explain: 'The house is a volumetric exercise of solid faces and punctual openings, nestled in a corner of a residential neighbourhood with diverse housing typologies and varying heights. The decision to keep a low-rising building with a garden in a dense urban context is an exercise that achieves minimum impact of the new, and reuse of the structural core of the old.'
Inside, the main double-height space is punctuated by a new bespoke staircase feature, which connects the living area and kitchen below with the bedrooms upstairs. This circulation core is painted in a peach hue that offers a vibrant colour accent to the otherwise fairly minimalist interiors.
Indeed, the staircase system's curved geometries can also be found elsewhere in the design – both externally, in its volume and entrance door, and internally in decor and fittings. This playfulness echoes throughout and marks the architecture's contemporary nature – still, it's a composition equally born out of practical needs.
The architects add: 'The surrounding buildings to the northwest and southwest rise high with large balconies that compromise the privacy of the house. In response, the house becomes an opaque volume. To introduce light, the volume is cut at its west vertex, creating an exterior oasis at the intersection of two streets where distance to the building opposite is greater, also disrupted by tall trees.'
Outside, behind tall walls, a courtyard garden unfolds in three levels. It contains the site's original fruit trees, as well as new ones, which were added along with Mediterranean vegetation, to help cool the property during the region's hot summers.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘The United States of América’: how Willy Chavarria is rewriting American fashion
Wallpaper* catches up with Willy Chavarria, who staged his latest show, ‘América’, in a disused bank on New York’s Wall Street yesterday evening (September 6 2024)
By Ann Binlot Published
-
Designer India Mahdavi on her perfect restaurant experience
As part of Laila Gohar's guest editorship, she asked friends in the industry and her wider creative circle to relive their perfect restaurant experience. Here, designer India Mahdavi recounts a perfect night dining under the pitch-black Egyptian sky
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Mark Armijo McKnight’s bodily landscapes capture the tactile serenity of the American West
The artist’s new exhibition at the Whitney Museum, which is organised by the museum curator Drew Sawyer, offers a succinct window into his contemplative suggestion of queering a landscape
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Piraeus Tower is a Greek high-rise icon revived through sustainable strategies
The restoration of the Piraeus Tower is completed in Greece, revealing a revived façade by local architecture studio PILA
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Three Object Apartment embraces raw concrete honesty in the heart of Athens
Three Object Apartment by DeMachinas is a raw concrete home in Athens, which confidently celebrates its modernist bones
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Residence in Dionysos was conceived as a minimalist ‘cave refuge’ outside Athens
Residence in Dionysos by Desypri & Misiaris Architecture is a family home designed as a minimalist refuge among the surrounding nature's pine tree-filled slopes
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This Greek villa's superyacht aesthetics conceal two self-contained family residences
A Greek villa in the upscale Athens suburb of Filothei, House Symbiosis is home for two sibling families, designed in white, sweeping volumes by Direction Architects
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A Filothei house rises to the occasion in its angled Athens plot
A Filothei house by Kallos Turin is an Athens residence rising to the occasion on an angled plot
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This colourful Athens apartment takes small space living to a new level
Pocketed away on a residential street, this colourful Athens apartment smartly utilises every inch of its footprint with segmented flooring and rich textural design
By Tianna Williams Published
-
KKMK, Greece: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
The Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023's newest entry is Greek studio KKMK, behind projects such as this minimalist haven in Athens’ Psychiko
By Ellie Stathaki Published