Located in an up-and-coming neighborhood once home to numerous factories and warehouses, this Athens loft blends contemporary comforts with echoes of industrial design. Part of a project by If_Untitled Architecture to breathe life into an abandoned T-shirt factory, the flat is a prominent corner unit with a focus on open space. The main room of the dwelling is long and wide, with more than enough space for the living and dining room which it contains. The interior edge of this main room contains a very unique shelving solution that fits human beings as well as books and household items, saving space even further. The private spaces of the apartment are significantly different in style than the main room, with an all-white bedroom and a compact master bathroom finished in concrete. The residence is an urban blend of industrial chic and cutting-edge innovation, all coming together to form a bright, comfortable home in the city.
The apartment is set on the rounded corner of its industrial building, with high ceilings. Featuring exposed beams and concrete, the open-format main room takes up most of the flat’s space, with all its public amenities presented in industrial loft style.
Along the back edge of the main room, a raised wooden platform leads to a wall half covered with open-faced shelving for books and other items. This shelving is uniquely geometric in shape, even forming an inset lounge chair near one end and generating visual interest on what would otherwise by a very smooth wall surface.
A kitchen, complete with a four-person counter bar, is built along the rear wall and integrated smartly into the lines of the living area’s shelving complex. The dining table on the other side of the room is set at a slight angle in line with overhead lighting.
The living room takes advantage of the wide space offered by this open-format floorplan, with a couch lined up against the edge of the rear wall shelving complex forming a border between it and the dining area. The living area features the largest array of windows, occupying the corner of its building overlooking an intersection.
Even though the main living space of the apartment wasn’t exactly bursting with dozens of colors, the all-white master bedroom is still starkly monochrome in contrast. All the drawers and other storage here is mounted flush to its container edge, creating a wall surface out of the cabinets across from the bed.
The master bathroom continues the industrial theme of the loft with a countertop and tub basin made from concrete. The room itself is accessed under a part of an older concrete structural arch, an unremovable piece of the building’s original architecture.
Another, smaller bathroom for guests occupies a corner of the apartment beyond the kitchen, tucked between concrete and metallic wall sections.
Down below at the main entrance to the building, the entry stairs descend into a common area below street level, an unconventional touch that makes use of the basement which already existed in the structure when it was converted for residential development.
The building which houses the apartment is genuinely a former factory, which had to be significantly reworked to allow for the addition of a public lobby space and divisions between various flats. The building occupies a historically industrial district of Athens that is quickly becoming a popular neighborhood to live in for young adults.
If_Untitled Architecture
