Atmospheres from a bygone Athens, in a renovated residence

In a country where the traces of the recent economic crisis can also be read in the alleyways of the historic city, where once prestigious buildings now dilapidated or abandoned still witness vanished glories, property developer Molonglo has for some time been engaged in the restoration of these “modern ruins”, envisioning a new function for them as dwellings available for long-term rental. Mithimnis Apartments is among them. In an imposing Art Deco building from the 1920s, located in the lively Kypseli neighbourhood, the studio, together with the London-based architects Royffe Flynn, has realised a philological and measured renovation enhancing the typological and material characteristics of the 20th-century building without renouncing to a contemporary language.

Two apartments are housed in the building, both distributed on two levels. The ground floor apartment, articulated around a private courtyard, includes a studio on the lower level, four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The one on the first floor is composed by two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a roof terrace, accessible by an external metal staircase and planted with native essences that tolerate the torrid Athenian climate well. The interiors are fluid and airy, thanks to the ceilings which in some cases reach a height of 6 metres, thus making somehow regret the compositional criteria of the past, in comparison to the often cramped spaces of today’s buildings.

The project scrupulously recovers the original characteristics and proportions of the spaces, revived in the choice of handcrafted materials and finishes thanks to the involvement of expert local craftsmen: the meticulously restored parquet flooring, the richly veined Cipollino marble in the bathrooms and kitchen, and the rough terrazzo of the floors – with subtle variations in tone, colour and size between rooms – evoke atmospheres from a lost era. The selection of furnishings mixes historical elements with contemporary pieces, in an expressive vocabulary that declines plurality under the common denominator of understated elegance: from the essential and vaguely monastic wooden structures of wardrobes, shelves and beds, to the freshly hewn marble blocks of benches, tables and sinks, the furnishings stand out like unexpected jewels in the sober rooms, giving the spaces a sophisticated and atemporal aura.