Double House

A small number of architects practising in Athens attempt to decode the city's composition and reinterpret the organizational logic of its main building types (the poly-katoikia or apartment building, and the mono-katoikia or single-family house), and the elements and materials of which they are constructed (cantilevered balconies, hanging gardens, set-backs, rooftop spaces, arcades, pilotis, plaster, glass). Rather than accentuating Athens' formless character through the use of highly expressive forms, they attempt to counterbalance it through the design of straightforward, orthogonal prisms. This dikatoikia (double house) emphasizes the individual character of each of its two constituent parts and the importance given to the building's relation to its surroundings and the design of its open-air spaces. The clear stratification in section is contrasted by the building's volume which develops freely in space; parts of the initial prism are subtracted to produce protected courtyards.