Green Block of Flats

By: Aristides Dallas Architects

The proposal is for a “green” apartment building in the area of Gaziou, in Athens, aiming for a zero energy balance. Inspired by the form of the typical tree house, the composition is primarily composed of the main body of the building that includes the interior spaces of the residences and is complemented by a perforated shell of reused timber that includes both open outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces, serving the bioclimatic behaviour of the building. Anchored to it are the volumes that emerge from the green – wooden trunk, facing the Acropolis and serving the open air ventilation of the residences.

The lower volume, not being able to turn towards the view, encloses the residence, giving it privacy and isolating it from the views of the neighbouring houses, enclosing the green courtyard and the vertical garden of the first and second floor. The volume of the trunk is staggered into two smaller ones, for the best natural sunlight for all the houses. Thus, it forms multiple and different alternations of outdoor and indoor spaces. These form the core of the composition, as their alternation allows the use of the intermediate rooms, making it possible to plant them, while contributing to the privacy of the apartments.

The composite elements of the building’s envelope set as a goal the better natural lighting of the building, the through ventilation, the visual discharge and comfort of its interior, the improvement of the atmosphere of the space and, in general, the microclimate both inside and outside. The incorporation of green zones in open and closed spaces, perimeter extensions and perforated elements of the building as well as the cladding of the building envelope with a shading system (perforated perimeter elements) are the tools that create ideal bioclimatic conditions in them (green building), increasing the percentage of greenery in the area.

In the rear (northern) part of the apartment building the second skin encloses evergreen climbing planting that protects from the north without depriving the view from the rear facades of the apartments. Planted canopies, green canopies, balconies and vertical planting make their presence visible inside and outside the building, upgrading the environment for the tenants and the microclimate of the area, contributing to the reduction of the “urban heat island” phenomenon in the centre of Athens.