* 건축가가 설계한 자신의 집 Block722's Craft-Rich Penthouse in Athens is a Case Study in Nature-Centred Urban Living

"집은 단순히 살기 위한 기계가 아니라, 삶을 담는 그릇이다." — 알바 알토

루멘 레지던스: 건축가가 설계한 자신의 집 Block722's Craft-Rich Penthouse in Athens is a Case Study in Nature-Centred Urban Living

건축가가 자신의 집을 설계할 때, 클라이언트와의 협상이나 기대로부터 자유로워진 그들의 창작 비전은 가장 순수한 형태로 결정화된다. 그리스 건축가 카챠 마르가리토글루와 소티리스 체르가스, Block722의 설립자인 이 부부에게 아테네의 녹음이 우거진 파파구 교외에 자리한 듀플렉스 펜트하우스는 정확히 그런 경우다. 네 식구를 위해 설계한 이 230제곱미터의 빛 가득한 주거 공간은 스튜디오의 철학을 고요한 구성 안에 응축한다. 자연 소재와 세심한 디테일, 자연 중심의 웰빙이라는 Block722의 "오가닉 럭셔리" 정신이다. 수많은 럭셔리 리조트와 섬의 빌라를 설계해온 이들인 만큼, 이 집이 일반적인 아파트보다는 도시 위에 조용히 자리한 사적인 휴식처처럼 느껴지는 것도 당연하다.

펜트하우스가 자리한 6층 주거 건물은 부부가 숲과 맞닿은 남향 코너 대지를 발견한 후 Block722가 처음부터 설계했다. 파파구의 건축적 유산, 즉 모더니즘의 영향 아래 아테네의 전후 확장기에 번성했던 이 교외 지역에서 영감을 받아, 건물은 엄격한 기하학과 곡선 발코니, 목재 액센트, 지중해 식생 같은 부드러운 제스처를 결합해 매스를 완화하고 구조에 따뜻하고 친근한 성격을 부여한다.

최상층 두 개 층을 차지하는 루멘 레지던스는 도시와 인접한 숲을 가로지르는 탁 트인 전망을 최대한 활용한다. 풍성한 식재로 둘러싸인 큰 개구부가 파노라마를 액자처럼 담아내며 자연을 공간 안으로 끌어들이고, 개방적이고 막힘없이 흐르는 평면은 바깥 풍경처럼 자유로운 동선을 만든다. 하층에는 아이들 침실과 거실, 다이닝, 주방 영역으로 은은하게 구획된 오픈 플랜 공간이 자리하고, 위층에는 수영장과 라운지 데크, 야외 다이닝 공간이 있는 루프 테라스로 이어지는 마스터 스위트가 자리한다.

소재가 이 집의 고요함과 웰빙 감각을 떠받친다. 오일 처리한 목재 바닥부터 벽 패널, 캐비닛, 가구에 이르기까지 목재 표면이 전체를 관통하며 따뜻함을 형성하는 동시에, 질감 있는 미장, 세라믹 타일, 대리석, 풍부한 질감의 패브릭이 촉각의 층을 더한다. 목공 작업의 부드러운 곡선과 풍만한 형태의 좌석은 절제된 스칸디나비안 미학을 풍부하게 만든다. 이는 집에 부드러운 템포를 부여하는 조각적 감수성이다. 건물 외관의 곡선과 호응하는 이러한 둥근 형태는 건축, 인테리어 디자인, 장식이 같은 언어로 말하는 Block722의 전체적 접근을 강조한다.

장인정신은 모든 스케일에서 디자인의 토대가 된다. 인테리어의 상당 부분은 Block722가 직접 설계한 것으로, 주방과 거실 사이의 프라이버시를 조절하는 목재와 유리 파티션 도어부터 넓은 주방 캐비닛, 일상의 의식을 담는 조용한 조각 같은 맞춤 대리석 세면대에 이르기까지 다양하다. 가구 역시 스튜디오가 디자인한 것이 많으며, 세심하게 고른 현대적 작품과 빈티지 제품이 섞여 있다.

다이닝 공간에서는 클레이 톤의 크바드라트 패브릭으로 장식한 곡선 밴퀴트가 둥근 목재 테이블을 감싸고, 두 작품 모두 Block722가 직접 디자인한 것이며, 경매에서 구입한 한스 J. 베그너의 하트 체어와 Trizo21의 미니멀리스트 샹들리에와 짝을 이룬다. 거실 공간에서는 베이지 부클레 소재의 Jardan 풍만한 섹셔널 소파가 질감 있는 스모크 글라스 상판의 Eichholtz 폴리곤 코르테스 커피 테이블과 대비를 이룬다. 샘 라르손이 DUX를 위해 디자인한 빈티지 페닉스 암체어는 스튜디오의 스칸디나비안 지향을 은은하게 드러내고, 스텔라 카페자누의 회화와 마리아 시오르바의 아트 포토그래피는 개인적인 예술적 목소리를 건축과 나눈다.

위층 마스터 침실은 넓은 통창을 갖추고 있으며, 한쪽은 루프탑 테라스로 직접 열려 집에서 가장 깊이 빠져드는 공간을 만든다. 밖에서는 트라베르티노 로쏘로 만든 단 위에 수영장이 자리하며, 그 풍부한 톤은 침실 안으로 이어져 실내와 실외의 경계를 지우는 단차진 플랫폼이 된다. 이는 자신이 정확히 어떻게 살고 싶은지 아는 건축가만이 할 수 있는 명확한 공간적 제스처다.

어쩌면 이것이 루멘 레지던스의 진짜 이야기일지도 모른다. 이것은 자신감의 과시가 아니라 명료함의 표현이다. 편안함과 장인정신, 자연이 일상 속에 배어든 집이다. Block722의 환대 분야 경험이 공간의 넉넉함과 빛, 전망, 소재가 웰빙을 뒷받침하는 방식에서 분명히 드러나지만, 여기에는 일시적 머무름을 위해 연출된 것은 아무것도 없다. 이것은 감탄하기 위해서가 아니라, 먼 미래까지 잘 살아가기 위해 설계된 장소다.

Write by Claude & Jean Browwn

When architects design their own homes, free from the expectations and negotiations that usually shape a brief, their creative vision tends to crystallize into its purest form. For Greek architects Katja Margaritoglou and Sotiris Tsergas, founders of Block722, this duplex penthouse in Athens’ leafy Papagou suburb does exactly that. Designed for their family of four, the 230-square-metre, light filled residence distils the studio’s philosophy of “organic luxury” into a calm composition where natural materials, crafted details, and nature-centred wellness, the pillars of Block722’s ethos, take centre stage. With a portfolio that includes numerous luxury resorts and island villas, it only feels fitting that the home carries a transportive quality of its own, more private retreat than typical apartment, quietly perched above the city.

The six storey residential building in which the penthouse sits was conceived from the ground up by Block722 after the couple discovered a south-facing corner plot backing onto woodland. Taking cues from Papagou’s architectural heritage—the suburb flourished during Athens’ post-war expansion under modernist influences—the building combines strict geometry with softening gestures such as curved balconies, timber accents and Mediterranean vegetation that relax the massing and lend the structure a warm, inviting character.

Occupying the top two floors, Lumen Residence, as the project is titled, makes the most of its sweeping views over the city and the neighbouring woodland. Large openings lined with lush planting frame the panorama, folding nature into the spaces, while an open, free-flowing layout creates an ease of movement that mirrors the landscape beyond. The lower level accommodates the children’s bedrooms and an open-plan living space, discreetly zoned into sitting, dining and kitchen areas, while upstairs the master suite opens onto a roof terrace with a swimming pool, lounge deck and outdoor dining area.

Materiality is the backbone of the home’s sense of calm and wellbeing. Wooden surfaces dominate throughout, from the oiled timber flooring, wall panelling, to the cabinetry and furniture, creating a sense of warmth, while textured render, ceramic tiles, marble and luxuriant fabrics add layers of tactility. Soft curves in the carpentry and voluptuous seating introduce a sculptural sensibility that enriches the pared-down, Scandinavian-inflected aesthetic and lends the home a gentle tempo. These rounded forms, echoed in the building’s exterior curves, underscore Block722’s holistic approach, where architecture, interior design and décor speak the same language.

Craftsmanship grounds the design at every scale. Much of the interior is custom-designed by Block722, ranging from the timber-and-glass doors that modulate privacy between the kitchen and living room to the extensive kitchen cabinetry and the bespoke marble sinks in the bathrooms that function as quiet sculptural anchors for daily rituals. Many of the furnishings are also studio-designed, mixed with contemporary and vintage pieces chosen with equal care.

In the dining area, a curved banquette upholstered in clay-toned Kvadrat fabric cusping a round wooden table, both pieces custom-designed by Block722 are paired with auction-sourced Heart Chairs by Hans J. Wegner and a minimalist chandelier by Trizo21. In the living area, a voluptuous sectional sofa by Jardan in beige bouclé is set against Eichholtz’s polygonal Cortes Coffee Table with its textured smoke-glass top. A vintage Fenix Armchair by Sam Larsson for DUX adds a gentle nod to the studio’s Scandinavian alignment, while a painting by Stella Kapezanou and art photography by Maria Siorba bring personal artistic voices into dialogue with the architecture.

Upstairs, the master bedroom enjoys expansive glazing, one side opening directly onto the rooftop terrace to create the most immersive space in the home. Outside, the swimming pool rests on a podium crafted in Travertine Rosso, its rich tone continuing into the bedroom as a stepped platform that dissolves the threshold between outdoors and in—a clear nod to the kind of spatial gesture that belongs to architects who know exactly how they want to live.

Perhaps this is the real story behind the Lumen Residence. It’s not a display of confidence but of clarity: a home where comfort, craft and nature are embedded in the everyday. Although Block722’s hospitality experience is evident in the spatial generosity and the way light, views and materials support wellbeing, nothing here feels styled for transience. This is a place that has been designed not to marvel at, but to live in well into the future.
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