HOUSE IN THESSALONIKI, GR 2000-2004
The corner house lies in the former Ottoman quarter in the upper old town of Thessaloniki, surrounded by heterogeneous, small-scale, dense building structure, within a labyrinthine street pattern. It is built on a very small plot of approx. 78 sq.m. and uses the steep slope of the terrain for a three-story construction, with a studio on three levels and a separated, two-story apartment. Morphology, color, and material of the building are based on the old Ottoman houses trying to reinterpret their typological elements, material, and colors, in relation to the specific site.
The volume "describes" the outline of the irregular, acute-angled plot, leans to the north on the existing rock wall and protrudes upstairs to the south with bay windows, that correspond and open up to the surrounding street lines, creating a variety of views, perspectives, and interactions.
The strange shape of the plot, the extremely rocky ground, the complex static organism, but also unforeseeable difficulties during the construction process, have led to special, mostly unplanned solutions: niches, rocks and old walls integrated into the interior, built-in elements, steps and changing levels. This house is a piece of Architecture designed in situ.