Sihlquai 41 - Living Above the Beach

Once a day, Dimitris plays music from her veranda into the streets of Skala Skimineas. On the small street in front of her house, she dances to the music in a red dress and leather boots while her cat is watching. It is her way of performing authenticity and exposing herself near her home, creating the possibility for interaction with other inhabitants of the village.

In the film “Mr Dimitris and Mrs Dimitroula” by Tzeli Hadjidimitriou we get to know Dimitris, an elderly trans woman living in a small fishing village on Lesbos. Since her parents passed away, she has arranged her home to suit her own needs and now lives contentedly alone. In her bedroom, she has created a corner with personal belongings.

The arrangement is reminiscent of an Eastern Orthodox Icon Corner, which serves as a home altar for daily prayer. In Dimitris’s apartment, this corner includes not only religious images and items, but also mermaids and photos from her personal life story. It forms the core of the home, while Dimitris‘s life is oriented toward the outside. She spends most of her time on the veranda, where she eats, listens to music and watches people from the village pass by her house. Snapping her fingers, she says: “I live winter as if it were summer.”

Learning from Dimitris‘ way of life the project at Sihlquai41 examines if the interior of the private home can be reduced to a corner, where one puts their very personal items and conserves a Life‘s History, while the actual Living is oriented towards the Exterior.

The last floor of the existing parking building is a public sun deck. Above hovers the new structure, which partially shades the deck, acting like a large parasol and provides a home for around 100 people.

The interior of the studio apartments is limited to 21m2, and due to the offset layout, six concave corners and two spaces emerge without being entirely separated by doors. The bathroom is generously dimensioned and extends the living space. To the corridor the living area of the apartments extends into a niche in front of the kitchen window on the outside of the units.

The apartments are designed for the needs of elderly people and Social stability is achieved through the arrangement of the units that foster a sense of community and create moments of interaction and mutual observation.

Living above the beach gives elderly single residents the chan- ce to take part in the urban life in an easy, low-threshold way. The existing building is infiltrated by the city, and above, one can create their own personal icon corner.

Project by: Elena Geser

Teaching team: Anna Puigjaner, Dafni Retzepi, Ethel Baraona Pohl, Pol Esteve Castelló, Lisa Maillard, He Shen, He Yufei. In collaboration with BUK

Master Thesis: Spring 2025