ATHENA projects for Athens by VITTORIO MAZZUCCONI

Akademia   Athens 1986   Office Complex

This building in the center of Athens was also inspired by the dream of the classical city. The main idea was that of creating a small corner-square (similarly to what Mazzucconi had previously done in Paris for the Cittadel and for the J.C.Decaux building) where the glass facades form an angle between them: this allows the formation of graphic images and reflections, which suggest the porticos and the temple's shapes of the old city.

But the dream-world is unpredictable: it may occur that the classical image no longer refers to ancient Athens so much as to the neighbouring University neo-classic building. Likewise, the large marble walls, in a state of ruin, are paradoxically ruins of our contemporary world. Situated over the complex, the last floors reveal an architecture inspired by a still more demanding source: the Acropolis. This project, therefore, becomes a portrait of Athens.