Dexameni

Pleasure. In Architecture? In a hole in the city where social encounters are favored. Dexameni, the old reservoir in the center of Athens, is transformed into a sequence of atmospheric and sensual spaces that are open to interpretation. A quest on body and space relationships. A new typology of public baths, the heart of an exotic, nonurban ‘idyllicity’.

This project aims to tackle the challenge of creating a sensory environment of pleasure and tranquility in the heart of a wild and noisy city. \nThe Kolonaki area is at the center of the urban life of Athens. Somewhere at the foot of Mount Lycabettus, is the square where one can find Handrian’s reservoir. Dexameni. Besides a passage, this place is also a landmark for all of Athens’ citizens. A newer part of the reservoir, remains to this day an unexploited carcass of historical significance, that became our site.\nWhat we’re looking for is the true, diachronic and utter pleasure in all its extensions. \nThe space that is not made for pleasure to begin with, is what activates pleasure itself. We are not only looking for architecture and its relationship with humans, but also the interactions of themselves within it. People communicate through the symbols of the spaces they are in. Detecting their movements we can see that they get in or out, sink or levitate, touch and talk to each other or avoid contact, they are attracted or repelled.\nVessels in the water; others sink, others float. The whole idea of ??the composure of the spaces revolves around the nature of a reservoir. A bigger vessel is refilled with water and smaller individual vessels of spaces, that constitute the ensemble of the building. The ground is activated to accept the new program, that approaches the philosophy of a bath. These spatial expressions of emotions function not as yet another trend of our time but as an imperative need for the inhabitant of modern Athens.\nPartially open, the building is an assemblage of privacy and exposure to the people from the outside. It blurs the boundaries of the personal and the public, pushing the term of intimacy to its limits.\nMan has a sense of constant wandering, following a floating path that constantly reveals new grounds and rooms. The floor is transformed from a pool to a bath, then becomes dry, to hot, steamed, giving the visitor the choice of his own ritual. Limitations are absent. According to his feelings, man chooses a sequence of spaces that is not accidental, but carefully designed to be executed unconsciously.