Mpakses Summer House

This two storey house is located in N. Epivates also known as Mpakse Tsifliki, is a small seaside town of the Municipality of Thermaikos. Due to its vicinity to Thessaloniki, it has been a vacation attraction for the people of the city since the 1930s. This house was built in 1968 as a summer house for two families, where each floor is an independent apartment of 120 square meters. The house is located on the seafront and has a direct relation to the sea, therefore the decay of the facades was major. However, the house has a shared exterior space at the most quiet part of the plot. One of the main architectural elements of the house, which is also quite characteristic of the 70s period, is the cement breeze blocks decorating the balconies. Unfortunately, most of them have been damaged.

The main purpose of our architectural intervention was to preserve the character of the façade. It was essential for the cement blocks to be removed and  replaced, so we aimed to achieve a very similar pattern to the original when replacing them with new ones. The metal fencing of the house, which is also used at the side balcony and the exterior stair, was designed and custom crafted in order to fit the aesthetic of the cement blocks of the facades. The window frames were replaced with new ones, preserving the old French style at the shutters.

Photo Credits: Ioanna Fotiadou

Regarding the interior renovation of the apartments, since they are two different properties with different pursuits and needs, each one of them was treated individually. Nevertheless, a common design principle was that the interior layout of the apartments was maintained at a great extent, making small interventions that serve a more contemporary lifestyle.

The main intervention which took place in both apartments was the addition of a dining space to the living room area. This way the dining space also gains visual access to the sea becoming more versatile and extroverted. In both floors, a new built-in furnishing structure was used to create a subtle and flexible division between the two spaces.

The ground floor apartment was renovated completely, altering the style and materials of the initial design. so that the overall aesthetics of the space becomes more modern and lighter. The hues used are neutral and the dominant material is wood in its natural color.

The upper floor apartment on the other hand, was partially renovated, maintaining many elements of the original design, such as the marble and terrazzo flooring, the built-in kitchen as well as some of the old furniture. Our main design aim in this case was to create an atmosphere where the new interventions would harmoniously blend in with the existing architectural elements which have been carefully restored.