threshold introduces a glowing glass box in 1970s apartment
Troias Apartment sits quietly on the first floor of a 1970s polykatoikia (apartment building) in the dense fabric of Kypseli, Athens, nestled between two narrow streets. The original layout, defined by a long, dark corridor, fragmented the apartment into a sequence of disconnected rooms. The intervention by Greek studio threshold is simple and legible. All non-structural walls are removed, and a second, almost hidden WC is introduced. The main bathroom proudly sits at the heart of the plan. Where privacy is required, translucent or transparent partitions allow light to pass through freely. By evening, the bathroom becomes a glowing glass box, a quiet shadow play. Floors and ceilings are given equal care.
all images by Vasso Paraschi
A minimal set of gestures restores Troias Apartment in Kypseli
The design team at threshold restores the wooden floors and arranges the kitchen as a floating element between two distinct surfaces. Below, a tomato-red floor marks the center of the intervention, receding at the entrance to reveal the original terrazzo. Above, the ceiling bears the imprint of the removed walls, a quiet trace of the apartment’s former layout. A light metal structure, floating lights, a giant house for a small extractor, and a full-height silver curtain are placed with intent, inviting shifting reflections throughout the day. Troias Apartment is composed of a sequence of elements, shaped through a minimal set of gestures, some essential, others simply possible. A precise palette of materials binds everything together. In the end, the apartment becomes a modest framework for everyday life, carefully unfolded, quietly rearranged.
the double-sided kitchen furniture becomes a display object for the living and dining space
threshold reimagines the space by removing all non-structural walls
translucent partitions allow privacy without compromising natural light