Architectural design/interior design : Eleni Kompatsiari
Structural engineering : Konstantinos Fakis
Supervision : Eleni Kompatsiari, Giouli Perdiki
Furniture design : Eleni Kompatsiari
Location : center of Thessaloniki
Area : 190,00 m2
Design – Construction : 2021
Photo credits : studioyk
The aim of this project is to connect two apartments located in a 60’s apartment building into one in the center of Thessaloniki. These two elongated flats in their typical construction of their era, fragmented in tide rooms and long narrow corridors, are converted into one single two floor flat with spacious rooms.
The main concern of the architectural and structural study was to retain and improve the safe and undisturbed intervention on the bearing capacity of the building. Thus, various layouts and locations of the staircase were studied and checked to choose the best structural and architectural one. Also the point of intervention was reinforced with strips of carbon fiber as it was foreseen in the project study.
A challenge of this project was to redesign the two floors in a way so as to retain the remarkable elements of the old flats while hiding the ones that reveal the previous elongated lay out of the place and turn it into a new single flat with a homogeneous aesthetic cohesion.
The new flat contains a spacious kitchen, comfortable living room, sitting room, four large rooms, one walking closet, two bathrooms, a staircase and many store rooms.
The staircase that was instated in the living room constituted the central design element, which dominates the space. The lines of the handrail expand to the living room and to the entrance hall while its curve converses with the rotunda dining table and the wooden curve that is formed by the central pillar and pole. The living room, kitchen, entrance hall and dining room are separated with each other by vague boundaries in a large bright space of 70 square meters. The guest room and the small bathroom complete the uses of the upper floor.
On the lower floor are the two children’s rooms connected with each other in order to provide a common playroom with the potential to be separated in the future. The master bedroom is also on the lower floor connected with the walking closet. On this floor are the sitting room, the main bathroom and the laundry room making good use of the space under the staircase.
The specially designed furniture along with every other element in the flat were made in mind to accommodate the personal needs and desires of the residents (custom design). The colors, materials and textures used give harmony to the place.
Some of the materials used were the walnut wood, the olive green color which connect the shaped L kitchen counter with the staircase and the bookcase. The soft fabrics create the sense of comfort and intimacy. The light marble in the small bathroom next to the guestroom brightens the room. On the other hand, the large bathroom on the other floor has a sense of privacy and serenity. For this reason, darker shades were used for the facilities and materials.
The intention of this project was to design an apartment that harmoniously combine luxury and simplicity with modern amenities of simple forms and lines.
