Revival of modernity in a 1960s apartment in Kipseli – a unique renovation

It is the peculiarities of each project that guide the architect to the final result. For Haris Vamvakas, it was about preserving and highlighting as many original items and materials as possible. apartment Athenian modernity.

The reason for the existence of the apartment “Green, Salmon and Checkerboard” located in the center of Kypseli in an elegant apartment building in 1960. The operation was organized around it two axes: The Registration and redemption From the original architectural elements of the apartment and Implementation of small interventions It aims to raise the level of functional cohesion of the space.

The result is an elegant “update” of Athenian modernity with modern furniture, beautiful colors and the interventions that are generally necessary for a more modern life.

Besides, this was also the biggest challenge for him thank you cotton. «The biggest challenge during the implementation of the project was to achieve the harmonious function of the old elements and materials of the apartment with all those new elements added during the renovation. The colors, textures and shape of the new materials chosen should complement each other with the existing ones, highlighting and eventually redefining them thus moving from the 1960s to the 1920s while at the same time preserving the memory of Athenian modernism that the apartment is a typical example‘, as he says in iefimerida.

Inside the Kypseli apartment, which embodies the principles of modernity

A key element in the architect’s study was the colors defining the different spaces. The name of the apartment is also inspired by it. “The name refers to the three major interventions that took place in the apartment which in turn formed the central idea of ​​the architectural design. So we have Green for the master bathroom and kitchen, Salmon for the accompanying bathroom and a checkerboard for the restored floor in the kitchen and dining area. It is more about describing the project than being a noun, as it would like In emphasizing the design of the proposal not only in terms of the end result but primarily as a logical process and a creative process,” notes Harris Vampakas.

All oak floors and most of the colorful mosaics have been restored to their original form. In the kitchen, white Bentley marble and gray Alivian checkerboard marble were used, while in the bathrooms green and salmon tiles were laid in succession, giving each space its own identity while remaining in harmony with the original materials of the apartment. They are adjacent. Thus, the spacious rooms are also full of liveliness and tranquility, inviting the owners to relax in a practical environment.

A series of furniture, designed especially for the apartment by Haris Vamvakas, upgrades not only the functionality and flexibility of the apartment but also its architectural character. Three large marble pieces make up the kitchen table that expands towards the reception area to act as a dining table, thus revitalizing the previously unused space in the reception room. A large wardrobe runs the length of the wall on the other side giving plenty of storage space.

In terms of interior layout, the proposal makes use of the apartment floor plan developed in the shape of a “C”. So in the back, the bedrooms, bathrooms and storage maintain the original floor plan of the apartment which defines clear and distinct spaces. At the front of the apartment, on the other hand, all spaces are unified under a single organization with the floors subtly defining the different functions of each space physically. A ‘hidden’ sliding door separates the two wings of the apartment providing privacy and seclusion in the bedrooms, whenever the users desire it.

More than sixty years later, Modernism has proven to be an unprecedented movement for art and architecture as it is an inexhaustible source of design ideas and thus lifestyles.

Project ID:

Project Title: Green, Saumon and Checkerboard

Architect: Harris Vamfakas

picture: Marios Lagos

Supervision of work.: Giorgos Karvonis, goalkeeper for Vampakas