Oblique has transformed a 139-square-metre industrial unit in central Athens into a multifunctional residence designed to host both daily life and temporary art exhibitions. Completed between 2022 and 2023, the project, titled Astral Weeks, reimagines a typical postwar office typology -common in the city’s fabric- by inserting a layered domestic infrastructure within a previously rigid shell. The intervention responds to the limitations of the original building, including outdated plumbing systems and inflexible heating and cooling arrangements. These constraints, paired with the hybrid nature of the brief, shaped a spatial strategy rooted in duality and control.
A clear boundary divides the space into two distinct zones: a deep perimeter and a central void. Around the edges, an elevated floor hides the infrastructure and defines a more private domestic area. This zone includes bedrooms, bathrooms and storage spaces, which can be adjusted using sliding panels to create a sequence of rooms with varying levels of privacy. At the centre, a column-free, open space is framed by the surrounding structure and full-height glazing. This flexible area functions as both living space and exhibition zone, its neutral character allowing for different uses over time. Though the layout separates functions, it also creates subtle connections. Rooms along the edge open onto the central void, creating unexpected views and an inner ‘façade’ that recalls the form of a courtyard. Using simple thresholds and clear geometry, Astral Weeks proposes a new kind of urban interior, both private and shared, fixed and adaptable.
