Kokkinou + Kourkoulas Architects & Associates

The new mixed-use complex for Shop & Trade, a clothing import and distribution company, is located on Pireos Street, the historic road that connects the city of Athens with the port of Piraeus. Since the end of the 19th century, the surrounding areas have been dominated by industrial uses and warehouses. In the last ten years, brown field redevelopment, the construction of museums and the reuse of the old gas factory as a cultural center have revitalized the area beginning to reassert the historic prominence of the street in the life of the city. New restaurants, bars and coffee shops mark the change of character. The particular site of Shop and Trade is surrounded by distinct urban morphologies and scales: subsidized modernist housing estates, industrial areas and traditional urban blocks. The complex was designed to mediate and redefine their relationship.

The property is surrounded by streets on three sides. The L-shaped four-storey office volume is placed along the back street and the boundary with the adjacent property, thus providing the backdrop for a roof garden over the single story retail podium. By opening up towards Pireos Street at the intersection with Kydonion Street the garden contributes to the quality of public space while at the same time providing a visual focus and an environmental buffer for the offices. The set-back also endows the building interior with more panoramic city views.

The garden slopes towards Smyrnis Street at the back, under the main office volume, suggesting perceptual continuity of public and private open space while at the same time demarcating a boundary between the retail podium and the entrance floor of the main offices and showrooms. The configuration of garden and office block also creates a sense of continuity between the subsidized housing estates behind the building and Pireos Street at the front. Furthermore, the distinct treatment of front and back elevations expresses the relationship between the industrial character of the Smyrnis street and the emerging identity of Pireos Street.

The Shop & Trade complex is approximately 10,000 sq. m. In addition to the primary use of offices and show rooms, it accommodates a large retail space on the ground floor. A 9,000 sq. m. underground parking garage serves office employees and visitors. Service entrances are provided along the side and back streets.

The structure is of exposed concrete. Environmental performance at low energy costs is enhanced by combining geothermal systems, an atrium at the center of the main office wing and automatic B.M.S. coordination of the openings. The facades are visually treated as woven surfaces which also serve as screens to reduce heat gains and glare.