Studios for artists on Leonida Street

Authors’ Comment

This diploma project explores the architectural potential of longitudinal space as both a spatial and perceptual phenomenon. Rooted in a theoretical framework that spans philosophy, psychology, and architecture, the project extends beyond formal geometry to engage with how space is lived, felt, and experienced over time.
At the heart of the project lies, what I tried to be a subtle intervention within an existing quiet neighborhood, where the architectural gesture does not seek to dominate but rather to support and frame. The design consciously acts as a fond—a spatial and visual background—for the existing house on site. It enhances its presence through a composed spatial strategy that foregrounds the old by allowing it to breathe in a newly defined architectural setting.
The intervention is governed by the logic of longitudinal spatial sequences. These are not only structural or compositional tools, but carriers of atmosphere, rhythm, and orientation. Following the ideas of Christian Norberg-Schulz and the spatial descriptions of Bruno Zevi the project regards space as a temporal and sensory experience. It is about movement, transitions, light shifts, textures underfoot and overhead, and the resonance of materials. Architecture here unfolds in time, as a narrative rather than a static object.
From a compositional standpoint, the project is defined by axiality, layering, and restraint. The proportions of the spaces emphasize direction and rhythm, encouraging a progressive engagement with the built environment. The architecture does not offer itself all at once, but rather reveals itself gradually, inviting users to read it through movement, orientation, and pause.
The material language is deliberately muted. The neutrality of tones and textures supports a quiet integration into the neighborhood while enhancing the expressive qualities of light and shadow. The intervention absorbs and reflects the spirit of the place—the genius loci—without imitation or pastiche. It situates itself carefully between presence and absence, between gesture and background.
Ultimately, the project proposes a redefinition of longitudinal space, not merely as a functional corridor or compositional device, but as a medium for architectural meaning, in various contexts. It is a space of continuity and transition, of silence and resonance—where the new does not replace or overshines the old, but resonates with it and uses what is given. The result is, I hope, an architecture that is humble, grounded, and attuned to its context: a quiet intensifier of place.