00:02This space is on the semi-basement of a building.
00:07The family used it as a storage space for large pieces of furniture and things they didn't really need.
00:16The idea was at some point in the future when the family would grow,
00:21this space would turn into a new autonomous small apartment for one of the kids.
00:31This apartment is located in Iliupoli, which is an area of Athens south from the city centre
00:38and towards the coast of the city.
00:41It is a pleasant residential area with a strong neighbourhood feeling.
00:47It's an area actually very nicely located between the close by Imito hill and the coast of Athens.
00:57The building was built around 1980 and it's a multi-generational building.
01:04Here the grandparents live on the top floor and their children live just above this apartment.
01:13When we first came to see the apartment, it was quite dark because it has light only from one side.
01:21The space was all exposed concrete, but it had a very nice cave-like atmosphere that we wanted to keep
01:28a highlight.
01:31The space had only one small room enclosed, which was a toilet.
01:37We moved the wall out a meter in order to fit a shower.
01:43We left pretty much an open plan where we needed to delineate a dining room, a living room and a
01:50sleeping area.
01:50And there's a shared laundry in one of the family units upstairs.
01:57The main goal was to keep the cave-like magical feeling that we encountered on our first visit.
02:05The materiality is very warm and earthly.
02:08We collected materials from abandoned or closed shops and factories.
02:14So a lot of the ceramic tiles were recycling.
02:20Even if the space is small, we always give a very big importance to the entrance of the space.
02:26So we always have a place to sit and take off your shoes, also to store your shoes.
02:32There's a different custom-made ceramic floor here with tiles seemingly randomly placed in concrete.
02:39There's a Japanese-inspired wooden partition screen with an integrated planter.
02:45There's also a Japanese-style carton which conceals the rest of the space.
02:51You don't directly see what you're going to get, so it creates a sense of surprise and unexpectedness.
02:58So as soon as you pass the hallway, you find yourself in the middle of the living space,
03:04which has a comfortable coffee table and two seats.
03:08And there's a hanging screen for projections, so you can comfortably watch a movie while sitting here.
03:17In the living room, we designed a book cell, which is actually part of the partition between the living room
03:23and the bedroom.
03:25Being made of metal, it's very thin in profile, so it's very discreet.
03:32In the middle of the apartment is the dining space, which centers around a custom-made steel table.
03:40It comfortably sits six people.
03:43The table is placed perpendicular to the outside space and the light,
03:47so everyone that sits can enjoy the views far out.
03:53The kitchen is split in two main furniture, so it feels less like a room and more like a distributed
04:00furniture in the space.
04:03There is a fridge, an oven, many drawers and a pantry space.
04:09The kitchen is materialized in laminate, apart from the back splash, which is Black Creek marble.
04:17The kitchen island is cleverly designed so that the cupboards open on all four sides.
04:23It's in the center of the space, so it has this kind of social feeling.
04:29On the opposite side is the bathroom wall with further shelving.
04:36What's also nice about the kitchen is that on one side it feels like you're standing in a room that's
04:44bordering a garden.
04:48There's a line of graphic ceramic tiles on the floor that delineate the space of the bedroom.
04:55During the course of the day, the bedroom is generally open towards the rest of the apartment.
05:02But in the evening, it can be closed off via the sliding steel partition and also two curtains.
05:12The curtains have different height materials and colors.
05:16This kind of differentiation makes the space feels bigger and also more interesting.
05:22The wall behind the bed is covered in cork, which softens the sounds because that's the exterior side of the
05:30apartment.
05:32There is a long desk along the window towards the natural light. You can also sit on it.
05:39Next to the bedroom is a closet. The closet is custom made.
05:44We bought Dexon style shelving, then we built a box around it.
05:49On one of the sides of this room is a generous mirror, which creates again an illusion of space.
05:57On the corner, there's another metal shelves.
06:01These white shelves turn around the corner and continue to camouflage the second exit doorway and the air conditioning unit.
06:12The bathroom has a strong blue color and seamless material.
06:19There is a long, high window between the bathroom and the kitchen area.
06:24We don't need to turn on the lights in order to use the bathroom.
06:30And there is a floating bench that gives a feeling of beach and relaxed space.
06:38When we design a small space, we do the opposite of what a minimal architecture does.
06:45We try to divide the space into many different spaces and to introduce many materials.
06:52This trick is taken from the Greek traditional house, where even though the space is small, there is a big
07:00density of things and atmospheres.
07:03Through good design, we can turn even storage spaces like this into comfortable housing units.
07:11In this way, we can house more people into our growing cities.
07:16Also in cases like this one, it can keep a multi-generational family together.
07:22We can be there.
07:23We can be there.
07:26We can be there.
07:38We can keep a multi-generational family together.
07:39You
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