Commercial Bank of Greece Computer Centre

Mesogeion Ave, Holargos, Attica, 1990-97

Architects
Nicos Valsamakis (1924-)
Maria Serdari-Valsamaki,
in charge of the project for the firm
Gibb-Petermuller and Associates



The Commercial Bank of Greece Computer Centre was a proposal that revitalised the typology and style of office buildings constructed on major thoroughfares in the Athens suburbs.
The building is four storeys high and was designed on the basis of special security specifications to protect the Bank’s hardware and significant database. In the maximum security areas in the basement are the archives, disks and unmanned electronic equipment; on the ground floor is the manned electronic equipment while the remaining floors are occupied by offices and service areas.
The building is laid out around three sides of an atrium the fourth side of which consists of a solid wall that isolates it from Mesogeion Ave. Both the building and the atrium are organised on the basis of a square grid 90x90 cm. On plan, the office areas are laid out on both sides of a central circulation core and movable partitions are used for greater flexibility.
The building is a white cubic synthesis of pure volumes. Its plain façades are made up of uniform surfaces of white plaster that are interrupted by the rhythmic arrangement of semi-outdoor areas and set-in openings with glass and aluminium profiles.

TRANSPORTATION