French Institute (new building)
31 Sina St, Athens, 1973-76
Architect
Sthenis Molfessis (1929-1998)
The new French Institute building, which is an extension
of the old one, is a remarkable expression of the international brutalist
code. It is on the edge of the costly district of Kolonaki not far from
the Athens Academy building and the historic building of the Law School
of the University of Athens. It is a work by Sthenis Molfessis, graduate
of the École des Beaux Arts of Paris.
This is a three-storey building that is differentiated perceptibly from
the old French Institute and from its impersonal constructed surroundings.
It consists of a ground floor, two upper floors and a retiré.
The ground floor accommodates a 400-seat amphitheatre; on the upper
floors there are 6-8 classrooms with a flexible layout and the possibility
of uniting the areas. On the retiré top floor are the chemistry
laboratory and photography workshop, a projection room, offices and
guest quarter.
The main façade of the building is built of bare concrete and
a solid wall with an interesting plastic treatment up to the height
of the ground floor and a simple rectangular grid on the upper floors.
