Crantonellis Town House

7 Aphroditis St, Plaka, Athens, 1962-63

Architect
Cleon Crantonellis (1912-1978)



The town house built by the architect Crantonellis constitutes one of the remarkable encounters of international modernism with the local tradition. Built in Plaka, the oldest quarter in Athens, it is an authentic expression of the "neo-brutalism" of its time, which reinterpreted the typical features of the traditional Athenian houses: inward-looking, with courtyard, and closed, semi-closed and open spaces.
This is a two-storey town house that is focused inwards to the courtyard and has a free plan organised around an open staircase with a metal skeleton. The minimisation of the partitions and the centrally placed stairway resulted in the creation of a single, multi-levelled space.
Modern materials were used on the interior: marble, metal, wood, glass and concrete. The imposing relief created by Kosmas Xenakis, 10.00x2.70m, which is built into the living room wall, is made of unplastered concrete. The volume of the building is simple and austere. Its elevations on the road and courtyard are geometric and simple, and have been designed with harmonious lines.
The structural elements of the building and the frames round its openings are of bare concrete while the fill-in elements are plastered.

TRANSPORTATION