Residence in Kifissia by Tense Architecture Network

The concept behind the design of this residence was to deal with the limited land available by creating a synergy between indoor and outdoor space, so that the former could virtually extend to occupy the latter. The central column supporting the elevated prism – the main element of the design – was surrounded by a set of inox ropes, were vines can climb and generate a volume equally important to the house’s prisms. The idea was that, once they are fully grown, only the black central column of the concrete shelter will be visible from the street; this way, the residential zone underneath them will have practically expanded to the whole plot. The merging with the garden will be complete by retreating the sliding panels of the glazed facade. Apart from functioning as a shelter for the living space beneath it, the vigorously detached prism lets the sun enter, dealing with the fact that most of the southern sun is blocked by an adjacent building; in addition, the surrounding basalt-watery surface reflects the outdoor light in the interior. Dimmers were widely employed for artificial lighting, in order to facilitate privacy and an intimate atmosphere. Overall, the elevated prism creates a synergy between structural and architectural design bringing together and attributing equal importance to both the building shell and its surrounding land.