Valsamakis Residence

22 Niovis St, Filothei, 1961-63

Architect
Nicos Valsamakis (1924- )



The detached house of the vanguard architect Nicos Valsamakis is among the outstanding Greek examples of the minimalist architecture of the 1960s. Built in the garden city of Filothei, it reinterpreted the entire concept of the Modern Movement with respect to the home as a combination of art, functionality and advanced construction technology.
The single-storey building is protected from the road by a solid wall; it has a large glass surface looking out onto the garden, giving a feeling of the continuity of interior and exterior space. The plan is organised freely within a strictly square outline, following a grid in which all the construction elements are included and which extends to the landscaping of the surrounding area. The interiors are arranged in three functional zones: living-dining room, bedrooms, and kitchen. This is achieved using very simple means, i.e. with just three walls and movable wooden partitions.
The structural system differentiates the load-bearing elements (thin concrete slab and thin, round metal columns) from the fill-in elements, while the plumbing and electrical installations have been provided for and are covered by the woodwork. The materials used both inside and outside the building are concrete, bricks, varnished wood and glass. This is a minimalist composition with warm colours, in which the horizontal dimension of the concrete slab and the unified surfaces dominate.

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