‘urban cubes’ by klab architecture, pagkrati, athens, greece image © b. louizidis all images courtesy of klab architecture

‘urban cubes’ is a residential block in the densely populated district of pagkrati in athens, greece by greek firm klab architecture. the urban area is set upon hilly and sloping terrain, and with a continuously evolving building code, the existing context is comprised of a range of single family homes and multi-storey buildings of diverse heights. over time, this process created a mosaic-like setting and became the starting point for the dual-facade of white stacked cubes. the concrete blocks are cantilevered and shifted to introduce daylight and ventilation into the interior of each apartment.

lifted on pilotis, the continuity between the opposing streets is maintained while  interior is accessed from a sheltered parking area. overlooking the main street and a secondary avenue, the structure is halved and joined with a central circulation core, placing two units on each level. the party walls are designed to introduce light as well, forming a vertical courtyard between each side. this technique eliminates the bland back wall which arise out of circumstance. the U-shaped configuration generates 14 dwellings which have equal levels of brightness and outward views.

klab architecture: urban cubes - 2 facade facing the alley images © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 3 primary colors on the facade facing filolaou street images © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 4 elevation viewing the main street image © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 5 stacked facade images © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 6 upward view image © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 7 rear elevation image © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 8 (left) elevation illuminated at night (right) view from street at night images © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 9 a central core joins each half of the building image © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 10 ground level garage image © b. louizidis

klab architecture: urban cubes - 11 floor plan / level 0

klab architecture: urban cubes - 12 floor plan / level 1

klab architecture: urban cubes - 13 section

klab architecture: urban cubes - 14 sketch

project info:

built area: 1200m2 plot: 285m2
 architect: klab architecture- konstantinos labrinopoulos design team: konstantinos labrinopoulos, enrique ramirez, kostis anagnostakis photographer: b. louizidis