Apartment in the Centre of Athens by Kapsimalis Architects
Apartment in the Centre of Athens sits on the sixth floor above the Greek capital, reworked by Kapsimalis Architects as a sensory city apartment. In Athens, Greece, the former compartmentalized layout gives way to a sequence of reflective rooms and softened private zones that draw in light from the main façade and terrace. Material shifts and color nuances now choreograph daily living across this compact urban home.
Morning light reaches deep into the sixth-floor interior and glances off mirrored walls, catching fragments of the Athenian skyline. Oak boards, colorful glass, and marble surfaces hold that light and send it through the long apartment.
This 100-square-metre apartment in central Athens is reimagined by Kapsimalis Architects as a layered urban dwelling focused on reflection, tactility, and sound. The former cellular layout gives way to a front zone where living, dining, and kitchen fold together, and to a quieter rear that gathers the bedrooms. Material choices and finishes become the main tools: they gently expand perception, pull the city inside, and tune the daily rhythm of the home.
Mirrors And City Light
At the front, the main rooms line up along the façade, sharing access to the sizeable balcony and its view toward the Athenian skylight and Hymettus. Clear mirrors spread across large wall surfaces, doubling the depth of the interior and folding fragments of city and sky into the room. Light moves across these planes during the day, so a single shaft from the main façade reads as many slivers of brightness across walls and joinery. Colorful glass and metal elements punctuate this reflective field, sharpening edges, redirecting views, and giving the urban setting a more vivid presence indoors.
Reworked Plan Front To Back
Where the kitchen once sat landlocked in the middle, it now shares the front alignment with living and dining, so everyday routines stay close to light and balcony air. Internal partitions have been stripped away here, replaced by visual links between zones, and by the consistent run of flooring that ties them together. The internal stair to the building terrace shifts to connect directly with the entrance hall, turning circulation into a visible element rather than a residual corner. As residents move from door to stair to balcony, the apartment reads as a continuous journey instead of a string of rooms.
Softened Private Rooms
Toward the back, the bedrooms step away from the intensity of the front and adopt a quieter register. Each bedroom folds a bathroom within its volume, so personal routines stay contained and the corridor stays calm. Thick off-white carpet wraps the floor, muting sound and softening the transition from the oak planks of the common areas. Lacquered wood wardrobes and consoles in matte and glossy beige sit against the same smooth plaster that runs throughout, but their reduced color range and gentle sheen keep this zone more subdued.
Tuned Material Details
Across the apartment, material shifts handle hierarchy and movement rather than overt decoration. New solid oak planks in a neutral shade run through the shared rooms, while cupboards and built-in furniture draw on natural oak with black and brown varnish to anchor the longer walls. Grey-brown marble surfaces and varied fabric textures settle in the living area and kitchen, bringing a denser grain where people gather and spend time. In contrast, smoother off-white fabrics in the bedrooms keep the rear of the home light, quiet, and warm on both eye and hand.
Objects, Plaster, And Sound
A continuous layer of smooth beige plaster wraps walls and ceilings, tying the mirrored surfaces, cabinetry, and stair into a single visual field. Ceramic and metallic pots and plates, together with colorful lighting elements, add small pockets of intensity against that calm background. These objects, finishes, and fabrics respond to more than sight: they shape how footsteps fall on oak or carpet and how voices move between hard marble and soft textiles. As day turns to evening, the apartment holds a steady conversation with the city outside through reflection, tone, and carefully tuned material presence.
Photography by Alina Lefa
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