Apr 2016

Super Paradise

The Piraeus Tower is Athens' biggest 'anomaly'; the second-tallest building of a city that does not allow for buildings higher than 27 meters has never been occupied. This much wasted space is extremely alarming when national homelessness is at 24.5%, and the rise of the "neo-homeless"—educated but unemployed due to the fiscal crisis. “Super Paradise” proposes the design of a cluster-residence which is multiplied and inserted on the framework of the Tower. The intention is to create a new hybrid residential model where the occupants’ imprint overrides the architect’s writing. Only the necessary elements are brought in, to make space for people's belongings and furniture.

Ioanna Sotiriou
TEAM
Academic Project
TYPE
Piraeus, Greece
LOCATION

According to studies conducted in 2014, 25.6% of the greek homeless population belonged in the “Neo Homeless” class, citizens without permanent residence, out of which 20% was highly educated while also either employed in the tourism and construction sectors or self-employed. This percentage is expected to rise above 30% after 2017. The concepts of ownership and residenship gradually mutate. The mobile parts of a residence become the real “investment” while residenship becomes a highly dynamic -almost exclusively temporary- action as it depends greatly on the fluctuations of the economy.

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The general approach followed three rules: preserve the existing dialogue between the Tower and the Flea Market, interfere as little as possible to the existing design and provide open access to everything, by designing constant and uninterrupted flows in the x,y and z axes.

As for the cluster itself, the goal was to cater for all different residents’ profiles (nuclear family, extended family, young professional etc). The permanent elements were kept to the bare minimum, allowing the residents to customize their space according to their own needs and tastes. Curtain rods are strategically placed on the plan as soft divisions, giving full agency to the residents on their own layout. The cluster develops in two floors while its plan is divided in three suggestive zones: the private areas, one on each side, and the common space where the kitchen and stairs are located.

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