Multiform Apartment

Multiform Apartment

The project was awarded at the Architecture Awards 2013-2017 by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture.
It was nominated for the pan-European Piranesi Awards 2017 in Slovenia, representing the Greek participation.

Fundamentals
Multiform Apartment is the result of the total renovation of an urban apartment in the center of Athens designed by Loculus Design architectural firm. The purpose of the design was to fully meet the needs of the client, who intended the apartment for a mixed use of business and more private departments, which however should not be staggered on the area of the apartment. The resulting building program was quite complex. The main use is Medical. The above data combined with just 72 sq. meters of the available space led the head architect Stelios Tsaparas to an out-of-the-box design approach.

It was preceded by a detailed imprinting study of the existing situation. Spatial analysis of quantitative data determined the functional pathology of the apartment with measurable values. At this stage, two were the main conclusions:
• The total floor area occupied by the internal walls and the non-functional zones that resulted from 
them was significantly high in relation to the total area of the apartment.
• The location of the entrance to the compartment created an uneven distribution of the 
movements, which in turn led to more burdensome and less burdensome areas of use. 


The response to the above functional pathogenesis, in terms of architectural composition, as well as the demanding building program was:
• The elimination of most of the fixed masonry walls and the installation of folding and thinner 
partitions with a specially designed cross section for the needs of this specific project.
• The opening of a second main entrance into a suitable position which allows the functional 
integration or isolation of all or part of the floor plan respectively. 
The above design decisions created eight possible combinations of uses that lead respectively to eight variations of the floor plan. 


At the level of architectural composition the space is shaped by two basic gestures:
• Two wooden constructions in "T" layout enclosing all functional parts of the apartment: kitchen, 
folding bed, storage rooms, libraries, frames.
• The bathrooms as well as the center of the mechanical installations are located around the 
luminaire to ensure maximum space and construction savings. 


Particular attention was paid to the design of the architectural details, which co-modify the aesthetic result, from the specially designed cross-section of the frames to the design of the door handles.