14 Thalen Apartment, Ioannina

In 2018, Thalen Apartment was my first project as an Architect. During my internship at Pantazi5 Architects, I was in charge of the interior design and construction supervision of a 1970’s apartment in Ioannina, Greece.

The apartment was lined with high-quality materials such as the green marble of Tinos Island and cherry tree handmade vintage joinery, and therefore it had to be treated with attention and respect to its history and character. The client wanted to renovate his parents’ apartment giving it a fresh, modern look while maintaining its classic, elegant style.

Project Status : Completed Project Year : 2018-2019

Photographed by Tasos Papanikoloaou

Photographed by Tasos Papanikoloaou

Therefore, the design of the common spaces of the apartment (the living room and the kitchen), was articulated around the use of the two main e xisting materials and the addition of the black steel, which would give a modern, industrial touch as the third element of the composition.

The vintage cherry tree joinery was reused to shape a timber cladded box which signifies the entrance to the private area of the bedrooms, while hosting a big storage space and a WC. Part of the joinery was refurbished and painted black to be used in the living room.

The wall that was separating the living room and the kitchen was cut off to create a uniformed yet separated space. The two rooms become visually connected, giving a sense of wholeness while keeping the flexibility of operating individually.

Kitchen To bedrooms

Storage

Kitchen To bedrooms

Living Room Living Room

In 2019 I worked on the redevelopment of the waterfront of Pyrgadikia in Chalkidiki, Greece, for a client that is interested in investing in the area. The case study was about redesigning the old marina layout and developing a local market and public spaces such as an open theatre and public seating amenities so people can enjoy the outstanding sea views.

Working closely with the Maritime Civil Engineering team, as a freelance Architect, I proposed the following layout which is consisted of three parts: the main square area, the pontoons area and the jetty area which works both as a breakwater and a walkway and at the end of which one may find the proposed restaurant.

Project Year : 2019-2020 Main square

Areas Diagram on Existing Masterplan Pontoons Jetty Public Circulation

Main square Pontoons Restaurant

Concept sketches

The concept of the main square design is based on a main public walkway which operates as the main axis of public circulation and traverses the square, connecting the village coastline with the marina area.

On the one hand there is a series of individual one-storey stone structures (shops) and on the other hand there is a variety of outdoor public seating, including an open-air theatre and a stepped seating zone so people can enjoy the immediate contact with the sea and the views.

The name of the village (Pyrgadikia’in greek translates as ‘little castles’) inspired the architecture of the market which consists of nine individual stone structures. The necessary supply access to the shops is separated from the public walkway as it is located behind the shops as a private circulation zone.

Main square layout Local market area

Open-air theatre Public stepped seating Public circulation zone

Public seating with unprevented views towards the sea

Restaurant area plan

騃鄃ꐃ鼃ꠃ霃 ꜃꤃ꄃ鼃ꔃ ꔃ錃⼀騃鼃ꔃ 锃鴃آ餃鄃ꘃ锃ꄃ鼃鴃ꐃ鼃ꌃ ꌃ㈀ 먃묃⸀ ㄀㨀㈀㔀 Skylight zone Cargo unloading Kitchen area

Restaurant layout Main entrance Seating area

Finally, the restaurant is located at the end of the public walkway, and on the inside part of the jetty.

The restaurant follows the same architectural style and materiality (local stone, metal frames and timber), offering a seating area that is fully openable and offers unprevented contact with the water.

The kitchen and the seating area are separated by a corridor which is expressed architecturally by the long skylight zone, which lets the light come through into this northoriented space.

Architectural Visualizations

Software Used : Rhinoceros V-Ray

The renovation of this top-floor flat in Athens was a project that I undertook as a freelance Architect. The existing common spaces of the flat included a living room and an open kitchen. The client’s desire was to keep the same open plan configuration while making the entrance, the lounge and the kitchen to feel as three different spaces. Therefore, the design approach was about creating a visual distinction between the two spaces while keeping them open to each other.

For this distinction to be achieved, the proposed scheme includes a timber screen that operates as a visual barrier between the entrance and the kitchen and turns into a ceiling to create a timber box.

The timber box sits on a micro cement flooring which enforces the differentiation of the spaces while the dining table stands right in the interface as an extension of the kitchen island.

Project Status : Under Construction Project Year : 2021View from the entrance looking towards the dining

The materiality of the design aims to enhance the domestic feeling that the client was looking for by the use of earthy tones and textures such as timber and cement. The kitchen was kept in light tones as an internal lining of the timber box, which together with the south orientation of the flat creates a bright and elegant scene.

The existing bathroom included a bath which the client wanted to replace with a walk-in shower to free up the space. The old configuration had barely any storage, so a big bathroom cabinet was designed to incorporate the washing machine, drawers and the sink.

In order to achieve the desired consistency with the rest of the flat, we used the same micro cement flooring signifying the ‘wet’ areas, and timber joinery to maintain the warm, domestic feeling.

Interior Design Visualizations

Software Used : Rhinoceros Enscape Plan of the existing scheme

Plan of the proposed scheme