Cascading Terraces רעזידענטשאַל אַפּאַרטמאַנץ

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The development of the concept is based on two linked volumes parallel to one side of the site, in dialogue with the particular nature of the immediate context, addressing the site boundaries and movement. Responding to the orientation, views, wind direction and the seasonal changes of the landscape, the complex opens up or closes, developing each time a different appearance.

Dimensions & Packaging

Approximate Total Building Area: 4580 square meters

Tags

architecture, residential, apartments, Greece, design, terrace, concrete, nature

Production Technology

In terms of materiality, raw concrete and white textured render are prominent in the building skin and fencing, developing a simple yet effective language. This approach, as expressed here spatially, implies materiality, temperature, density, weight and acoustic qualities, elements that are abstract but are derived from thorough experience.

Design Challenge

This emergent microcosm provides an intricate experience based on the dynamics between the man-made and the natural, the point of focus and the background, the familiar and the unknown, triggering sensations and emotions that capture the moment. Throughout this journey, experiences, spaces and materialities converge, either as parallel or as complimentary events.

Research

The arrangement addresses a series of choreographed views of the landscape and is organized in public and private zones towards the landscape-via the terraces- and towards the site. A series of cascading terraces is developed resembling F.L. Wright Fallingwater. The design also considers the play of light on the textured surfaces, the depth of color, the manipulation of the form and the overall aesthetic qualities.

Inspiration

The design approach prioritizes the utilization of the main view which opens up towards the SW and NW due to the site s location and topography of the suburb of Kifissia. The internal arrangement attempts to address a series of carefully choreographed views of the landscape and is organized in public and private zones that are extrovert towards the landscape, via the terraces, and introvert towards the site. This results in a series of cascading terraces at a slight angle with each other.

Project Duration

Design: 2021
Location: Athens, Greece

Operation Flow

The overall design approach was not preoccupied by a certain aesthetic correctness, but first and foremost to establish as a key parameter, the potential of a multi-sensory experience between the building and the landscape, and also aiming at the substantiation of individuality in architecture through the expression of the architectural object.

Image Credits

3D Visualization: Batis Studio