New Ground Floors

In recent years, in the city of Volos, Greece, empty ground-floor shops have been converted into residences. Shop windows are replaced by walls, with a door and window. A solid façade takes the place of the transparent previous one. Neighbourhood practices and networks of relationships are called into question, as is the ambiguous identity of the shop, which blurs the boundaries between the private space of the 'Polykatoikia' and the public street. The inhabitants of these new homes are usually students, whose housing needs are not currently met by the available university accommodation.

This project examines an alternative model of student accommodation, scattered throughout the urban fabric. We propose the conversion of unused ground-floor shops into student residences. Piloting a different approach to the reuse of this building stock, we try to combat the problem of lack of university dormitories in Volos, which exists alongside the broader housing crisis. A junction, including different shop typologies, was selected as an applied example that could be spread across the city. The proposal is based on the principles of cohabitation and sharing, comprising a dense network of spaces and human relationships. In terms of design, bedrooms and bathrooms create a compact core at the back, while at the front are intermediate, semi-outdoor, communal meeting spaces that function as a bridge between the privacy of the bedroom and the public street. In combination with these housing units, we propose additional communal spaces. By placing students on the ground floor, we envisage that the street will be revitalised and the sense of neighbourhood strengthened. In order to experience our proposal under real-life conditions, we looked for an unused ground-floor shop. When we eventually found a property, instead of bargaining for space through the rental market, we proposed a deal rooted in care - offering to clean it and replace the broken window in exchange for access. The abandoned space hosted a multitude of people and things. It functioned first as a place for us and our friends to study and gather and later opened up to the neighbourhood, hosting workshops and talks. Our stay there coincided with the design process, as we tested our ideas and negotiated real-life challenges. The space was made a vibrant and meaningful part of our daily life.