In an old building of the 1930ies, a jewelry store, a workshop and a first floor apartment were merged in order to create the retail shop of the Tod’s Brand in downtown Athens, in Voukourestiou str. The poor quality of the construction, the cheap building materials, and the poor layout of the spaces were some of the main challenges we faced during the study and the execution of the project.

The unification of the different levels was the greatest difficulty in terms of construction, as the pre-existing communication openings did not serve the new use of the retail shopping area. For this reason, the old elevator was removed and the openings of the new holes for the creation of the stairs to the first floor and the basement were done in sections, reinforcing the perimeter with metal structures and reinforced concrete.

Functionally, the ground floor is used for the women’s department with the corresponding warehouse in the basement, while the first floor houses the men’s and children’s departments in direct communication with the storage areas on the first floor. The dominant idea is movement, reminiscent of an exhibition space, with the aim of leading the buyer to the depths of the store, where the staircase to the upper floor dominates. The final appearance of the store had to follow the standards of the rest of the house’s stores abroad.