Psychiko House | Divercity Architects

This residence is located in a hilly, low-density suburb of Athens, on a 1000m2 gently sloping site, offering commanding views of the cityscape below.

The house is divided into three distinct zones. A chthonic core clad in grey stone, inspired by the quarries of the Attica landscape, houses the gallery for the owners’ collection of vintage cars and modern art. An amphitheatrical upper floor, conceived as a pair of binoculars kinking to frame city views, encompasses the private areas of the residence. Finally, a transparent and fluid living area occupies the space between them. These elements are strung together through a notional ribbon that circulates through the site and defines the spatial narrative, revealing views along its path. This ribbon introduces you to the house through a compressed curving view, which cuts through the stone wall that shelters the residence from the surrounding buildings to the south. It then directs the gaze to the intimate pool garden and finally widens to form the fluid living spaces, which have expansive views of the Olympic Park. The effect is like standing on the edge of a diving board ready to plunge into the cityscape.

Credits

Location: Psychiko, Athens, Greece

Status: Complete, 2012

Client: Undisclosed

Collaborating Architects Trac: (Technical Design) & Antonia Panou & Associates (Developed Design)

Structural Engineer: METER - Babilis & Associates

Services Engineer: LDK Consultants

Lighting Designer: Alkistis Skarlatou

Landscape Designer: Elandscape

Space Consultant: Sofia Vantaraki

Industrial Design Consultant: Manos Vordonarakis

Contractor: Divercity Architects

Photos: Erieta Attali

Awards: The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award / Nominated, 2013

Architectural competition upon invitation / 1st prize (GR), 2007