Reuse… Rebirth of a 1929 residence at Volos
Location: Volos, Greece
Project year: 2018 – 2020
The residence on Attik Street, originally built in 1929, is located in the heart of the city of Volos and remained uninhabited for the last ten years.
The new owners’ intent was not only to revive the old stone house, but also to create a space that fully adapts to the needs of their everyday life.
With this in mind, the outer shell of the house has been kept intact in regards of its openings, while its structural cohesion was reinforced and issues concerning the pathology of the structure, such as wall moisture etc. had been addressed and dealt with appropriately.
Moving on the inside, the interior was designed and reconstructed accordingly to the owners’ needs. In addition, decoration elements, such as the metal railings of the balconies, the ornate marble fences etc., were preserved.
Today someone can access the ground floor of the residence from the two staircases that exist on the courtyard and, moving inside, the upper floors through a wooden staircase. The main entrance is emphasized by the marble staircase and the neoclassical canopy made of metal and glass.
The ground floor is consisted of a spacious living and dinning room as well as the kitchen, moving upwards on the first floor one can find the bedrooms of the children of the family and bathroom. The master bedroom is located on the attic, with its bathroom en-suite and a walk-in closet, covered by the visible wooden roof with skylights.
The details on the door frames, the carved wooden elements of the staircase with the glass protective railing, the wooden floors in combination with the marble surfaces, create a meticulous interior that harmoniously bridges past and present.
A warm and inviting feeling is achieved through out the house by selecting light tone colors for the walls, frames, floors and window shades. The artificial lighting is carefully designed to provide the appropriate levels of luminance where needed and maintain a mild lighting effect through out the residence.
A stone fence surrounds the courtyard creating a feeling of intimacy and safety. A covered patio is created, hosting a large stone table and a stone-built BBQ. With stone, metal, wood and glass details the courtyard becomes a coherent continuation of the main house, which the family enjoys using during the warmer months of the year.
