Marianna Lizardou

Project: Re-design of an existing Office Building

Location: Lykourgou, Athens

Client: Software Company S.A.

Area: 1100 sq.m.

Status: Completed, 2018

Design by Thomopoulos Architect & Associates

http://dthomopoulos.com/

Project Manager: Marianna Lizardou

Associates: Mina Roussou, Stella Konstantina Papaspyrou, Panagiotis Tsogkas

Structural: George Karampelas

Mechanical: Panagiotis Xatzibailos-Techoiko S.A.

Photos: Mariana Bisti

https://www.marianabisti.com/

Construction: Ballian Techniki 

https://ballian.gr/en/

 

The project is located near to Omonia square, in the city centre of Athens. This area lacks green public spaces, hosts office building and markets in the main, and is characterized such a dense city fabric as a neglected part of downtown.

The two-floor design operation (3d and 4th floor) takes place in an existing office building with a specific obsolete model of workspace development. Strict arrangement of spaces, small and individual offices with a long, narrow and without light typical corridor in between.

For those reasons, the overriding concerns of the architectural approach aim to create a vital modern workspace with spacious offices in comfort, encourages teamwork, creativity, well-being and productivity.

The unification of the floors by opening voids to the middle slab aims to connect them for utilitarian reasons and visually by increasing the relative height of the workspace.

In the main void, a wooden staircase with amphitheatre shape rises into the centre of the plan uses such a literally connection of the floors as a gathering point of coworkers, a metaphorical Agora.

Working spaces are being organized as distinct subspaces responding to multiple working groups and at the same time are being presented as a cohesive area for the whole team by the use of transparent partitions.

Multiple green islands of vegetation within the office area are being used as meeting and relaxing areas create a paradox outdoor effect in the heart of the city centre, reinterpreting the notion of workspace and re-establishing the contact with the nature inside the built environment.