LAYERS VILLA, Palaio Psychico
Potiropoulos+Partners
The site is located in a central part of Psychico, in a typical, flat site near Moraitis School. Within one of the oldest neighborhoods of the suburb (Psychico), at the point of juncture of intersecting streets (Ag. Dimitriou & Al.Papanastasiou) the area is characterised by modern, and a few neo-classical residences from the beginning of the previous century.
The concept revolves around the folding operation of a continuous loop, a strip that forms a double spiral and ensures the unobstructed “flowing” movement of the users. It is materialised in all three dimensions -in constant tension- in a cohesive and dense “8” shape that can be read both directly with the building form and internally. The view and connection with the natural landscape unfolds along the length of this flowing movement. The internal edge of the form, parallel to the site’s frontage, is rotated NW with all the bedrooms and living areas to follow the sun path, from East to West. Two terraces/rooftops, one facing the sun, the SE, and one cooler, the NW, with trees on the side, respond to the orientation.
The main design intention was to develop a concept where the threshold between the “in” and “out” is “pliable”. The internal spaces blend with the external and when the glass partitions are fully open, at ground level, the “merging” is complete. The surface of the water, in continuity with the main pool area, creates a translucent roof locally in the basement level, while the exaggerated openings let the sun in the house. Natural light dominates space. Two protected courtyards, one by the main entrance and one internal, defined by the edges of the open living spaces, organise a double private diversion to the traffic of Ag. Dimitriou and Moraitis School. The pool is located on the South side, that of the sun. The water reflects the light onto the soffit of the corner cantilever, suspended over the external seating area and becomes the main point of focus.
The building envelope is clad in two materials (stone-concrete) and are developed in a linear fashion to “tame” the geometry of the loop and anchor the building to the ground. The projecting Cor-Ten windows “frame” views of the immediate and wider context emphasizing on certain viewing points. The frames “select or reject”, bring “in contact or protect”. The projecting “incisions” to the rigid building skin, in conjunction with the perforation pattern applied to the Cor-Ten sliding shutters and the fencing, contrast the stiff/heavy building envelope. The delicate perforated metal surfaces resemble “stage set” in motion. There is a deliberate continuity within the building of different elements, but is a state of dynamic stasis, a fragile balance provided by centripetal and centrifugal forces. Choreographed through a predominantly theatrical gesture, the historic cinema studio of Psychico reanimates ideas of transformation of the building with endless possibilities.
When it gets dark, the artificial light is filtered through the perforated panels and is diffused into the evening twilight. The “earthy” form of the Layers Villa is in a continuous negotiation, responds to the immediate context but it also opposed to it. An unexpected narrative unravels where the stories and “traces” of the suburb intertwine.
Contributors:
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN: Potiropoulos+Partners
3D VISUALIZATION: Batis Studio
LOCATION: Athens, Greece
DESIGN: 2022
