National Bank of Greece in Athens, Greece 1998-2001
With Irena Sakellaridou, Morfo Papanikolaou, Maria Pollani

Project
Competition project  1998 (1st prize)

Realization
1999-2001

Location
Eolou and  Sofokleous Street , Historical Center, Athens

Client
National Bank of Greece , Athens

Architects
Irena Sakellaridou, Morpho Papanikolaou, Maria Pollani, Thessaloniki

Civil Engineers
Vasis Sysm/Ch. Mylonas-P.Antoniadou,

Electromechanical Engineer
Triedros Meletitiki/S.Kolokodes-A.Mihas-N.Niarhos

Site area
1.453 m²

Net floor area
above ground 4’131 m², underground 871 m²

Volume
28'900 m³


Important findings of classical antiquity on site, registered buildings (the Main Building, the Stock Exchange, the Mela Mansion) surrounding it on all sides, a complex brief and tight time-limits made this a rather demanding architectural problem. On January 1999 archaeological findings on site were re-evaluated. The original project was changed to accommodate for high transparency on the ground level to make ancient Acharniki Street visible as it crosses on the longitudinal axis the building towards Kotzia Square . The transparency theme led also to the creation of a grand interior void in order to accentuate the public character of the building and spatial readability. The building, with the perspective of Acropolis at the end of Eolou street , completes the corner of an important building block of the historic centre of Athens . It comprises of a basic volume, parts of which are subtracted in such a way as to maintain the readability of the primary volume. Its main elevation on Eolou street is in dialogue with the neighboring neoclassical Main Building , while the other two elevations are treated as secondary. A hierarchy of facades, readability of floor plans, use of geometry and symmetry, simplicity of form, together with the relationship of the building to the archaeological findings and the natural light, represent the basic themes of the composition. The void in the interior lets natural light to enter. Space expands from the moat of the ancient wall, 9 m. below, visible through the glass floor of the 1st floor, to a height of 17 m. to the skylight on top. What becomes subtracted from the volume, what from mass changes to void, is flooded by light that becomes a strong compositional element. Metal bridges and glass floors on the ground level leave the archaeological findings visible. The ground floor becomes an open-air museum for the history of the city. The sub-foundation of Acharniki street keeps undisturbed the stratification of ground for a depth of 1.5 m. The silence of the ancient world that emerges under the building contrasts to the multiform and bustling area. Composition is a play of antitheses, and the relationship of the building to the ground becomes another main theme. The building comprises of ground floor and five more floors, as well as of four basements that extend under Acharniki street . On the 1st and 2nd floor it houses the Main Hall, while the other three floors house executive offices, meeting rooms and board restaurant. The color identity of the building is given by sandstone covering the exterior and the strong structural elements in the interior, black matte granite on the floors and light-colored wood finishes on walls and ceilings.