Phoenix | Athanasios Venetis

Phoenix

Contemporary Modular Living Unit

The important international trade increase and the dynamics of maritime container traffic in Mediterranean ports, also lead to deep thinking regarding to their utilization, storage or release needs at the end of their mission. The containers are used for the carriage of goods across the world by sea, they are mounted on ship decks, they are watertight and constructed according to specific standards and technical specifications that ensure their full response to extreme conditions. They are characterized by durability and excellent mechanical strength-static (self-supporting) as well as leakproof, non flammable / ignitable. Having this structural element at our disposal, we can make it fully sustainable through an appropriate design that offers complete and substantial insulation (based on international standards and specific factors), a creative approach interwoven with terms of art, functionality and adaptability in use.

It has been ascertain in conjunction that our society is unstable, many events that have been considered as facts have begun to decompose. All transitional situations offer particular opportunities. Innovations often replace well-established perceptions in order to concieve new realities. As Philippe Daverio mentions, there are mechanisms that need attention, since they  contribute to the retraction of the parameters we use when documenting events, as, during this procedure, the tendency to distort simplicity is usually displayed, leading to the absolute acceptance of misinterpretations. We shall have the courage to change our visual fields and displace them by studying different details about the facts. This is not about inventing a new world, but about looking at our own from a different perspective (M. Proust).

The projects of this category intend to remove the notion that the container as a means of providing housing leads to a degraded product with doubtful aesthetic and functional effects (and therefore in an attempt to displace our view). The approach to achieving this goal is through a complete design, result of studying and interpreting various elements, capable of covering a wide range of typologies, cost and aesthetics.

Furthermore, the Mediterranean is a unique tourism destination and a major attraction for investors in search of new opportunities. Our aim is to enhance the spirit of Mediterranean hospitality with a particular vision of Mediterranean identity that we are passionate to share;

“Pnoenix traveled again from afar to the seas of the long-standing maritime history that has always characterized the commercial trading of the Mediterranean. On its arrival, its structure, a symbol of commerce and shipping, is being reborn  and elevated to a constitutive element of Mediterranean hospitality."

Phoenix is an innovative, comfortable and environmentally friendly modular unit offered for accommodation, residency and hospitality. It finds implementation as a main or secondary residence, as well as accommodation adaptable to different classifications. It belongs to a category of studies which provide housing response to a wide range of human activities, using prefabricated units as building elements along with units of different initial function that are brought back into the fertile utility cycle through their reuse and their function redefinition (Upcycling ).

The recycling is discussed here with a considerate luxury which is also attributed to its environmental, social and functional status, as reflected also in the heterogeneous elements that consist airy, light, welcoming and pleasant spaces.

From the beginning, the ambition to create an intertemporal building, was the main goal of the planning: a functional, flexible, robust and durable (as a result of the nature of its construction) structure. Brightness and lightness derive from the elementary structure; basic, simple, essential architecture that exudes sensitivity, functionality and aesthetic adequacy.

The architectural quest meets and concludes here a two-way relationship with industrial design, as they both deal and interact with common components: Phoenix refers to the idea of buying a jewelry, gadget, car, etc. both in terms of total planning, creation, research and study of optimization of the prototype as well as the nature of the production and acquisition process. The result of sensitivity to the environment, architecture and market experience, through the history and excitement that design, forms, materials and experiential experience can cause.

Architectural capture follows practical and poetic terms as well: the energy of the structural cell  is exploited through reuse and denatured in a prism - body and spirit receptor - in which the symbols of nature discover their benchmark. The prism gives the feeling of swing, intensifying the lightness and metaphorically the intercession - the boundary between earth and heaven.

Inclusive energy exudes an aspiration for freeing. The contiguous optional water (swimming pool), beyond its practical application, makes this surreal feeling stronger. Whether it is hosted in an enclosed space, or where the spirit is projected to infinity, it is an ideal space of hospitality through a clear - almost silent!- architecture. The external elements that optionally accompany the unit, are designed as expansions of the building itself.

The relative symmetry of the ground plan leads to a balanced and versatile management of the space. The interior (open plan), unified and flexible, is not a tightly enclosed space but it's open, in direct contact with what is happening outside. Consequently the doubtful connection between the interior and the outside can be observed, as their boundaries dissipate.

Nature flows inside so simply as well as detectable through large openings, while airflow and diffusion of light guarantee an airy and sunny environment. All main spaces luxuriate in large openings, while at short intervals we have non-transparent surfaces along with the usage of movable elements that offer privacy.

All openings are framed and strengthened with steel frames, guaranteeing structural integrity. In the interior, thermic comfort is ensured by insulating the building shell, achieving energy efficiency factors based on international standards and studies and in harmony with the corresponding national ones. For maximum insulation, the use of double-glazed windows is recommended on sliding doors and windows. The ceramic coating on the structural elements of the structural cell counterbalances heat and cold, helps to avoid condensation and provides a durable finishing

On the roof a waterproofing membrane is applied, it is covered with sand and a gutter harvesting system is adjusted. Meanwhile, a photovoltaic system can be added, designed and installed to cover all, or part of the electrical needs. Air circulation is fully controlled by the windows, the sliding doors as well as the (optional) addition of an air conditioner. In addition, shading systems ensure the balancing of solar radiation on the summer months.

Features:

Dimensions: 12.3 m x 5.2 m

Area: 64 m2

Facilities: Room with function of bedroom - office, living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, storage. Furthermore, it is possible to make adjustments according to different preferences as well as on the climatic and topographical characteristics of each place of hospitality. More specifically:

-The openings can be adjusted according to the desire for greater or less transparency. Also, based on the climatic characteristics of the area, certain types of glass are recommended in function of their respective UV values.

-Choice ability of one or two bedrooms as well as typology. Also, the possibility of choosing a full open layout or sleeping zone autonomy (adding a wall and a door to access to/from the bedroom/s)

-Ability to connect to a photovoltaic system, as well as to add air conditioning and underfloor heating

-Ability to integrate technology bundles

-Can be hosted in a fixed or non-grounded position with the possibility of offering solutions for complete autonomy from a power grid, water supply, drainage

-Ability to optionally add an external Deck and the elements associated with it, embedded in the original design but flexible and open, adjusted to new different scenarios

- Ability to add an external shade / pergola