Concept Design
Virtual Spatial Experiences
ROLE
​
UX Researcher,
Concept Designer​
​
TOOLS
​
Photoshop, Indesign,
Autocad, Rhino, V Ray, Enscape
Workshop Facilitation
​
DURATION
​
3 years in 2015
at 314 architecture studio, Athens
​
DESIGN PROCESS
PHASE I
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
​
-
Research Framework & Timeline
-
Understanding the current real estate market with interviews and workshops with developers, real estate agents and authorities.
-
Qualitative research on sustainability concepts and systems.
-
Competitive Landscape on property typologies.
PHASE II
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
​​​
-
Plot requirements
-
Building regulations
-
Devise Solution
-
Ideation
-
Break Down Elements
-
User Flow Diagrams
-
Concept Testing
-
VR Presentations
-
Prototype Testing
​
​
This project is based on the client’s concept, which had the redefinition of the notion of ‘apartment building’, as its central axis. He redefines it as a vessel that can provide the user with a cultural and ecological environment, and one of social interaction. The building follows two basic synthetic axis that define the form, atmosphere and use of the spaces.
​
Firstly, by adopting abstract spaces that are surrounded by thick vegetation and ethnic elements, a residential environment is created, which provides the users with feelings of relaxation and wellness. A basic inspiration of the forms was the geometry of the sandstone rocks, curved by the sea.
The bioclimatic design of the building constituted the second basic synthetic axis, incorporating energy efficiency systems, such as photovoltaic panels and energy collectors, collecting waste water for secondary uses as well as the appropriate exploitation of the geometry of the forms. More specifically, the building is divided in three levels: basement (spa), ground floor (dwellings) and first floor (exclusive residences).
​
"The archetype of the collective unconscious"
​
The archetype as a primitive mental image inherited from the earliest human ancestors and supposed to be present in the collective unconscious.
Phenomenology has had an enduring interest in the ontological significance of home, beginning perhaps with Heidegger’s philosophical construct of “dwelling”. Gaston Bachelard also described the “oneiric house” as a place saturated with memories, dreams and symbolic meaning. For Bachelard, home is deeply connected to the “unforgettable house” of childhood and the ‘’house is one of the greatest powers of integration for the thoughts, memories and dreams of mankind”.
​
Referencing the Swiss psychiatrist Carl G Jung, he attributes the different places and vertical layers of the house to the structure of the psyche. Claire Cooper Marcus similarly argues, “the unconscious, often chooses houses, buildings, and secret rooms as symbols. The basement or cellar is often a metaphor for the unconscious, of something hidden that needs to be explored, whereas the attic of roof or opening to the sky often reflects a desire to explore transpersonal realms or spiritual dimensions.”
Doors and gates are the places of ‘going through’, of ‘passing over’. They are the structures that make possible a rite of passage. The dream perspective begins at the gates of entry, where entry signifies initiation. At the beginning, one must move into the double nature of the gate (arches), so that everything can be understood in a double sense, hermetically, metaphorically. The arches/gates make possible the dream perspective.
​