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Syngrou Avenue Office Complex, creating a choreography of vistas and views of the city

Bennetts Associates | Divercity Architects

Office&Business  /  Completed
Bennetts Associates | Divercity Architects

The office complex blends modern design with Athens’ rich heritage. Designed for leading Greek developer Dimand, the 15,600 sqm (GBA) new build scheme creates workplaces of highest quality, featuring class-leading sustainability credentials and a lush new courtyard garden. A pair of eight-story buildings are clad in vertical white marble louvers set at carefully crafted angles to capture the unique Athenian light, creating a choreography of vistas and views of the city, the Acropolis, and the sea. A sense of a single monolithic 'marble veil' is created, and an airy sense of mobility is ensured as the complex is revealed in motion. LEED certifications at the top level have been awarded to the buildings, Platinum & Gold respectively, attesting to our commitment to sustainable architecture.

Superbly situated on a prominent double corner plot on the coveted Syngrou Avenue, the brief called for a landmark new complex of 2 buildings in a neighborhood with large-scale important projects, such as the Hellenic General Insurance HQ and the Onassis Stegi cultural center. The purpose of creating a premium asset with a strong commercial address on the main avenue defined the massing strategy, along with the demand for maximum exploitation of the available building coefficient. The building volumes, with a GBA of 30.100 sqm (basements included), were designed along the three roads of the plot to maximize the façade presence of the complex and create a continuous urban frontage.

Priority was given to local certified materials and systems that would reduce energy consumption. Planted roofs significantly reduce cooling loads and enhance biodiversity to avoid the heat island effect. The orientation of the workspaces, with a proper depth of open plan workspaces, allows abundant natural light. The façade design, with openable windows, provides natural ventilation and a healthy working environment. The louvers system ensures sun protection, reducing direct sunlight and the demand for high-consuming HVAC systems. Materials, containing large percentage of recycled products, along with marble in the facade reduced the potential CO2e production. The scheme was awarded the prestigious LEED Platinum certification for Building A and Gold for the building B and whole complex.

Superbly situated on a prominent double corner plot on the coveted Syngrou Avenue, the brief called for a landmark new complex of 2 buildings in a neighborhood with large-scale projects. The purpose of creating a premium asset with a strong commercial address on the main avenue defined the massing strategy. The building volumes were designed along the three roads of the plot to maximize the façade presence of the complex and create a continuous urban frontage. The scheme was conceptualized as a sleek marble prism, designed to captivate the attention of observers and gain distinction through the elegance of its form. The building’s shell was studied as a mechanism for framing the urban landscape. It consists of thin marble louvers placed at carefully curated angles, choreographing the users' gaze in desired directions. A sense of a single monolithic 'marble veil' is created, and an airy sense of mobility is ensured as the complex is revealed in motion. The building's facades alternate between marble opaque panels and a transparent glass curtain wall. This interplay, along with the louvers at different angles, creates an illusion of a face that pulsates and reveals itself only in a cinematic way through motion. The scheme was designed to promote health and wellbeing. The system of louvers provides sun protection, while allowing abundant natural light throughout the workspaces. The green roofs and terraces offer opportunities to enjoy commanding views over the city and Acropolis.

The choice of the off-white Greek marble, called Pirgon, gives a familiar Athenian character to the scheme. The louvers capture and reflect as little as possible of the warm glowing sunlight, allowing abundant natural light deep inside the work spaces. The building’s shell was studied as a mechanism for framing the urban landscape. It consists of thin marble louvers placed at carefully curated angles, choreographing the users' gaze in desired directions, towards Acropolis and the city.

Credits

 Athens
 Greece
 DIMAND S.A.
 Commercial Office Spaces
 01/2023
 30100 sq. m
 Confidential
 Divercity Architects & Bennetts Associates
 Divercity Architects: Nikolas Travasaros, Dimitris Travasaros, Christina Achtypi, Annie Roussou, Daniel Silva, Christos Koufidis, Joao Asper Banha, Catalin Sandru / Bennetts Associates: Julian Lipscombe, Edward Marchand, Nick Humphreys, Eleanor Derbyshire, Andrea Bacchi Mellini, Marcos Corbal Caballe
 Ballian Techniki
 Structural Design: Pagonis-Polichronopoulos-Kinatos / MEP Design: INSTA Consulting Engineers / Landscape Design: H. PANGALOU & ASSOCIATES / Lighting Design: LAST Lighting Architecture Studio / Acoustic Design: H. Moraitis & G. Chatzigeorgiou / Vehicle Circulation Design: DROMOS Consulting / Passive Fire Safety Design: T. Pyrgiotis & T. Roussas / LEED Certification Consultant: D-CARBON
 Mariana Bisti

Curriculum

Divercity Architects is an architecture and interior design studio with offices in London (RIBA Chartered Practice) and Athens. Our international portfolio includes hotels and restaurants, private residences, apartments and offices, student housing and cultural institutions. Our award-winning designs have been published worldwide.

Our name comes from our openness to a multitude of influences and our curiosity about contemporary urban living. We embrace the power of technical innovation to take architecture in new directions, both in terms of how we imagine space and use modern materials.

We define sustainability as environmentally sensitive architecture that can adapt to change. What matters most is how people will inhabit and interact with the buildings we create. This three-dimensional thinking translates into dynamic spaces that make an impact, but always serve a purpose.

Tag

#Finalist #Greece  #Athens  #Aluminum  #Concrete  #Glass  #Commercial - Retail  #Offices  #Green Roof  #Concrete Structure  #Glass Envelope  #Marble  #Marble cladding  #Curtain wall  #Divercity Architects  #Bennetts Associates 

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