The Grand Dame by ASKarchitects

One such rough diamond was a 310sqm neoclassical private residence. Originally built for the French Councilor, this residence is a fine example of a typical Landmark Piraeus building. The architecture practice ASKarchitects co-founded by the Greek architect Stella Konstantinidis, was approached in 2007 with a brief to renovate the existing landmark while introducing a new built extension penthouse opening up the green roof. For this project, outmost care and sensitivity was paid to the historic values of the structure. New life has been introduced without forgetting about those that have gone by.

The finished residence consists of a four-story building with the new built section consisting of 90sqm. The aim was to create an open plan residence to house a family of four. The building was stripped to its bare bones and minor but effective interventions were applied to reinforce the original structure. All interior walls were demolished and replaced with sliding doors/walls for flexible living. The most flexible being the timeless old world courtyard reminiscent of the former days of outside neighborhood chit-chat now with over scaled glazed doors giving/retaining the sense of the endless height now bestowing a point of contact to all boundaries of the daily life. As the architect herself puts it ‘this courtyard area has become the lungs of the house’.

The Grand Dame, Piraeus, Athens, Greece, by, ASKarchitects
Photography by, Vangelis Paterakis, via: Yatzer

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

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Cirkel by Daphna Laurens at Galerie Gosserez

Beaver Street Reprise by Craig Steely

216452 ResponsesThe+Grand+Dame+by+ASKarchitects2011-12-14+21%3A00%3A30Sirme to
“The Grand Dame by ASKarchitects”

bruce Says:
December 15th, 2011 at 6:16 am
how many furniture classics can you fit into one house?
satchel Says:
December 15th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Ha! I was wondering if it's possible to overdo something like that…

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