Intra domum House

The building, a ruin meant to be demolished by the Municipal Authorities, is located in Ano Poli, a traditional settlement in Thessaloniki, near the eastern Byzantine and Ottoman walls of the city. Its remains consisted of the exterior stone walls, brick and chimneys, as well as parts of the wooden floor and roof. The design intention is to reuse the ruin as a residence, by maintaining its existing cluster, which required structural reinforcement and consolidation as well as reconstruction of its floor and roof. The main concept of the whole approach is to create an intensely introverted spatial atmosphere. Decisive options are the restoration of its simple geometry while highlighting the power of the single interior space.

The choice of the materials used, is an attempt to perform a continuity form the previous life of the building. Fair-faced concrete, where necessary, the reassembled stone at the base of the building, the scaffolding timber on the floor and the wooden roof made of rough lumber. Their overall synthesis is succeeded by design gestures taking advantage of the natural light. Diffused through the translucent glasses of the existing windows or geometrically defined through the new metallic sliding doors, spots of light and shadows transform into a perpetually daily narrative inside the house. At the same time, complementary custom-made objects and furniture compose a “bric-à-brac” collection, offering a cozy atmosphere of previous domestic experiences.