Apartment on Benaki Street

   The Benaki Street apartment occupies the top floor of a typical Athenian polykatoikia from the early 1960s. The building's facade is characteristic of the period: ground-floor shops, four identical residential floors with elongated balconies spanning nearly the full width of the front elevation, and a recessed fifth floor above.

   The original plan followed conventions of its time: small rooms arranged around the central stairwell, connected by narrow corridors. This configuration produced enclosed, dark spaces — natural light could not penetrate the depths of the dwelling. Yet the apartment retained hidden virtues: wooden floors, mosaics, and marble — materials that give the Athenian polykatoikia its distinctive interior character.

   The renovation sought to unify this fragmented spatial experience and draw natural light throughout, while preserving the materials that connect the dwelling to the history of Athenian housing.

   The design strategy rested on three moves. The first eliminated corridors, redistributing their area to the adjacent rooms. The second merged living room, dining area, and kitchen into a single zone of daily life, complemented by a new entrance space — a generous threshold that functions as the apartment's hub, organizing circulation and channeling light to the rear. The third concerned materiality: existing wooden floors, mosaics, and marble were retained and restored, while new interventions employed Dionisos marble in the bathrooms, powder-coated metal in the custom kitchen, and wood in the built-in furniture.

   Three terraces extend the dwelling outward. The largest accommodates outdoor seating; the two smaller ones host plantings — completing a residence open to light and to the city.