Psychiko House by Divercity Architects

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Awards

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award / Psychiko House, Nominated
Architectural competition upon invitation / Psychiko House, 1st prize (GR)

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Location : Psychiko, Athens, Greece
Area : 600.0 sqm
Year : 2012

Architects : Divercity Architects

Collaborating Architects : Trac (Technical Design) & Antonia Panou & Associates (Developed Design)
Structural Engineer : METER – Babilis & Associates
Services Engineer : LDK Consultants
Lighting Designer : Alkistis Skarlatou
Landscape Designer : Elandscape

Space Consultant : Sofia Vantaraki
Industrial Design Consultant : Manos Vordonarakis
Contractor : Divercity Architects

Photos : Erieta Attali

This residence is located in a hilly, low-density suburb of Athens, on a 1000m2 gently sloping site, offering commanding views of the cityscape below.

The house is divided into three distinct zones. A chthonic core clad in grey stone, inspired by the quarries of the Attica landscape, houses the gallery for the owners’ collection of vintage cars and modern art. An amphitheatrical upper floor, conceived as a pair of binoculars kinking to frame city views, encompasses the private areas of the residence. Finally, a transparent and fluid living area occupies the space between them.

These elements are strung together through a notional ribbon that circulates through the site and defines the spatial narrative, revealing views along its path. This ribbon introduces you to the house through a compressed curving view, which cuts through the stone wall that shelters the residence from the surrounding buildings to the south.

It then directs the gaze to the intimate pool garden and finally widens to form the fluid living spaces, which have expansive views of the Olympic Park. The effect is like standing on the edge of a diving board ready to plunge into the cityscape.

Divercity Architects

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Divercity Architects

Nikolas Travasaros

Founding Partner & Director, RIBA, ARB

Nikolas is the founding partner of Divercity Architects (Athens & London) and Director of Divercity Architects (London). He studied architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (1999) and received a Master of Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL (2000).

As well as managing Divercity Architects’ growing team, as Head of Design Nikolas leads the design process on all the practice’s projects, overseeing initial design to completion of construction.

Nikolas has spent time both practicing and teaching architecture. He previously taught architectural design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, Univercity College London (2007-2013) and prior to that, he taught architectural and interior design at the University of Patra, Greece (2002-2007).

He has curated exhibitions and taken part in several national and international architectural competitions (four 1st prizes, one commendation).

Dimitris Travasaros

Partner & Director

Dimitris is a Partner and Director at Divercity Architects (Athens). He completed a BA in Architecture at the London South Bank University in 2000, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture.

As a Project Architect, Dimitris plays a central role in the design process as well as managing projects from initial design to completion of construction. He works closely with our Athens and London offices.

Dimitris has taken part in numerous architectural competitions (one 1st prize). His ‘Invisible Hotel’ project has been exhibited and published extensively in Greece and abroad.

Christina Achtypi

Director, RIBA, ARB

Christina is a Director at Divercity Architects (London). She studied architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (2005) and received a Master of Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL (2009).

As a Project Architect, she plays a central role in the design process as well as managing projects from initial design to completion of construction. Christina has taken part in international architectural competitions (one 2nd prize, one distinction).

In 2008, she was co-curator of ‘Athens by Sound’, the national participation of Greece at the 11th International Venice Biennale of Architecture, ‘Out there – Architecture Beyond Building’. Her projects were also exhibited at the 4th European Biennale of Landscape Architecture in Barcelona (2006) and the 1st Biennale of Architecture in Rotterdam (2003).

Daniel Silva

Associate Director, ARB

Daniel is an Associate Director at Divercity Architects (London). He gained his M.Arch in Portugal at University Lusofona, Lisboa in 2011 and became a registered architect in Ordem dos Arquitectos Portugueses in 2013.

As a Project Architect, he plays a central role in the design process and manages projects from initial design to completion of construction. He has participated in a variety of architectural exhibitions and international competitions.

Daniel has a great experience in multiple project types including master planning, residential, offices, hotels, cultural, and sports complexes.