Spartis, 25: The House Between

The goal is to propose a new idea to the existing model of the Greek urban landscape, while indicating how spaces that are often considered unused can be utilized.

Nowadays apartment buildings in cities no longer meet the desired standard of living, yet they remain the main housing solution. It is crucial to improve the living conditions so that life in them becomes functional. The approach does not refer to the creation of a new building type that will solve the issue of housing in the city but a fit to the available building stock in order to redefine and renew the concept of “polykatoikia” and the importance of housing within it. The goal is to propose a new idea to the existing model of the Greek urban landscape, while indicating how spaces that are often considered unused can be utilized. The study area is a dense built part of the city of Thessaloniki. Among the buildings, mainly constructed between 50’s-80’s, the chosen one stands out morphologically and typologically. As the design focuses on reusing the existing shell it is legitimate to utilize the data recorded in the area. The proposal, redefines the typology of the classic Greek apartment building. The layout of the old building is overturned through a series of spatial interventions that shift, multiply or demolish the existing boundaries, as specified by the new housing scenarios. Redefining the housing, the character and the form of the semi-public spaces change, as well. The proposal includes the design of six housing units that are developed in 3 basic levels and refer to different conditions and users. Also, on three semi-public levels, outdoor spaces are organized. The goal, is not the restoration of the building to its original form but the creation of a new city identity, a mix of old and new, in an existing shell