Contemporary Athens is characterized by a building type that transformed the Greek capital into a modern metropolis within a few decades in the 20th century: the polykatoikia, a small-scale urban apartment block. For almost forty years the unchallenged residential ideal for all social classes, the polykatoikia by the end of the century had become synonymous with the rushed mass production of the postwar period and inhospitable living conditions in the inner city. The question now is: what potential does this omnipresent building type have? And how can it be developed further?

This book sets out to trace the architectural origins of this typology. It provides a comprehensive examination of the architectural concepts developed by Greek architects for the polykatoikia. Seventy-six apartment buildings dating from 1930 to 1975 are presented with photographs, redrawn floor plans, and brief explanatory texts. 

Killian Schmitz Hubsch

Verlag Kettler, 2024

22 X 16 cm, 318 pages