Konstantina Stella Tsagkaratou · CLIENT: Dimand S.A.
The project is the redesign of an abandoned iconic retail building in Athens. The proposal is a mix use development, comprising of retail, office and residential functions. Each use has its own special feature. The retail has the iconic entrance and a fully glazed façade on street level, the offices have the protruding glass cube meeting room with views of the Parthenon and an emblematic glass cube corner entrance while the residential entrance is located in the central courtyard as a continuation of the adjacent pedestrian street, in line with the overall urban planning logic of the area.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Redevelopment of an abandoned retail building in Athens. The proposal is a mix of retail, office and residential units. Each use has its own special feature. The retail has the iconic entrance, the offices have the protruding glass cube meeting room with views of the Parthenon and the residential entrance is located in the central courtyard as a continuation of the adjacent pedestrian street.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The dimensions of the building are: 58,025m*25,550m*44,622m
GBA: 14,977sqm, GLA: 13,657 sqm.
Retail and F&B: 6,658 sqm
Offices: 4,828 sqm
Residential: 3,491 sqm
Secondary functions/ back of house: 713 sqm - Tags
- RETAIL, OFFICE, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, COURTYARD, REUSE, MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT
- Production Technology
- The structural elements of the building are Concrete and the Glazing is triple for energy efficiency and noise control. The horizontal louvers of the façade are metallic. On the roof and the balconies, there is designated space for vegetation and photovoltaic panels that improve the energy efficiency of the building.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge during the development of this project was the history of the building and its conversion to a mixed use development, which is a different approach to the original design. The building comprises of 4 independent buildings, one of which has been more damaged by the fire that destroyed it and its structure has been severely compromised. Also, the slabs in one of the buildings are on different heights than the other three, which presented creative challenges that had to be overcome.
- Project Duration
- The project is located in the centre of Athens, Greece, with breath-taking views of the Acropolis.
- Operation Flow
- The building comprises of 3 distinct functions, commercial, residential, offices. Even though they are distinct, the full height open atrium creates homogeneity. To optimise the operation of the different functions, there are three different entrances to the building, one per function. The design of the atrium is meant to provide privacy, without cutting off the visual connectivity.
- Research
- The design of Minion is part of the architect's research on mixed use developments and the co-existence of different functions. The complexity of the brief resides on the seemingly contradicting needs of retail, offices and residential uses. The architect argues that once the potential issues arising from the mix of these uses are tackled, the above mentioned mix of uses is actually beneficial to the life of the neighbourhood, as it provides life on the urban block during the day and the night.
- Inspiration
- Urban redevelopment of the centre of Athens with emphasis on Patision street that is the only street that visually leads to the Acropolis and some of the most important buildings of Athens are located along its length. The building itself was the most famous shopping mall in Greece before it was destroyed by fire in the 1980s.
- Image Credits
- All images credit ASPA KST architecture design planning.
Photographer's credit Giorgos Sfakianakis Photography.
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