The Titular Green Box at the Heart of This Greek Home

Bookshelves became hallmark backdrops during the pandemic when students and academics were cast off into the virtual realm for lectures. Receding into the flat space of digital grids, these libraries often served more as wallpaper for the person gesticulating in front. But what if a bookcase was the essential parti of a home, rather than a surface or addition? This is the idea that Archiwave Architects—led by Dimitris Ntoupas and Anna Konstantopoulou—embodied in The Green Box, a 115-square-meter renovation project in Chalandri, Greece, that transforms a former office into a modern home for a young couple.

Inspired by the client’s profession as an educator, the residence’s design centers on a custom-designed bookcase—the titular “Green Box”—which becomes the spatial and conceptual core of the home. Beyond acting as a library, the volume incorporates storage closets while subtly defining the boundary between private and shared zones. The shelves are the focal point of the bright, open-concept living area, while the zone behind includes the three bedrooms. Inside the primary bedroom, natural light streams in from the living area through a strategic opening above the bookcase.

Complementing the rigid, rhythmic lines of the bookcase is a curved white wall at the entrance. Lit subtly from a recessed opening along the ceiling, this key design element welcomes visitors and guides them to the private zone, softening the transition from the open living space. The kitchen adjacent to the living area is built from oak to balance the earthy greens of the library. A perforated screen housing kitchen tools, set into the millwork, nods to the bookcase’s orderly grid, while a marble island provides the necessary contrast to separate domestic activities without sacrificing the home’s airy feel.

The bookcase itself reads as sculptural line work that wraps the entire wall and corner, with openings that expand and contract between horizontals and verticals to accommodate an ever-evolving collection of objects and homewares. Playful pops of color—the same cool green as the bookcase—bring personality to door trims and furniture, tying it all back to The Green Box. Archiwave Architects have reframed the library not just as an object or backdrop, but as a vessel for everyday living.

To see this and other works by the firm, visit archiwavearchitects.com.

Photography by Piyi Wong.

Bianca Weeko Martin is a writer and researcher weaving together architectural practice with theory and personal narrative. She is the author of the sold out Architectural Guide Manila.