Collection by Diana Budds
More Modern on the Inside: Slab Apartment, Athens
Athens, Greece, the cradle of classical architecture, is home to this modern renovation of an 810-square-foot apartment. The pied-à-terre's location in Plaka, the historic neighborhood at the foot of the Acropolis, posed quite the challenge for the architects at K-Studio. They faced stringent oversight from the city's archaeology department, who had to place their seal of approval on all design and structural work. To that end, the Slab apartment is an enclave of contemporary simplicity within a neoclassical shell erected at the turn of the 19th century.
"Our contextual approach to individual projects seeks to produce unique architectural experiences," says architect Konstantinos Karampatakis of K-Studio. In this project, the proportions of the c. 1800 building was the bridge between its old form and new iteration. The architects kept the high ceilings, thick walls, and tall windows of the original, and combined those features with contemporary details and finishes.
The far wall with the bank of windows is curved—part of the building's original design. The sofa is by Muuto, the chair is by Skandiform, and the rug and coffee table were sourced from the local flea market.
A sliding partition separates the living room from the dining room.
Here's a view from the hallway of the closed partition. The hanging lights are from Vesoi.
Though compact, the kitchen and dining room still manage to fit a full-size table, which is from Habitat. K-Studio designed the pendant lamps made from reclaimed conductors from Hellenic Telecommunications.
K-Studio sought to disguise much of the apartment's lighting and ventilation. Local architectural lighting firm Halo helped devise the plan.
Two of Llot Llov's Matt pendants snake around Muuto wall hooks to provide bedside lighting.
The bathroom features a cast-concrete floor and shower by Gessi.
The sink is by Boffi and the toilet is by Flaminina.
The floor plan.