ARC NEST PC / ΜΑΡΙΑ ΚΑΛΤΣΑ
Following a long practice with KPPS S.A. -the office which she co-founded with architects James Panagos and Vassilis Papandreou- and after serving a term in the Public Administration (Nov. 2009-July 2012), and the retirement of her partners, Maria Kaltsa established ARC NEST P.C. in 2017 in the same premises. With KPPS she built up an extensive portfolio of diverse projects: office and commercial buildings, residences, residential and hospitality complexes, public spaces and official buildings. ARC NEST P.C. engages further in demanding collaborative practices, it provides consultancy for sustainability design and project development, and contributes to scientific research projects.
In May 2016 Maria Kaltsa was appointed by the Mayor of the City of Athens as his Adviser for Urban Design, and was engaged in several Municipal projects until July 2019.
Our office today
We are highly trained in architecture, understanding quality design as part of life. We become more and more engaged with conversions of existing buildings and spaces and with today's action oriented, sustainable urbanism. We see the many restrictions, mainly posed by the current socio-economic and environmental realities, as drivers to think innovatively, turning a multitude of problems to design challenges or mind-framing opportunities. Surrounded by technological provocations and attendant of global developments we develop local, realistic ideas and projects, as people are set at the center of an expanding discussion.
Perception - wisdom - vision
We like to bridge ideals, visions and the realities of practice, thus addressing both the power of intellectual capacity, the riches of the real world and the complexities of public administration. Most of our creative practice is exercised through interdisciplinary collaborations, especially when managing large scale projects.
New fields of interest
Adaptation to climate change through design and urban development strategies, and climate change and the human factor are topics of great interest. Also the crafting of public policies to address many emerging problems which impact the profession, people and the environment, and the issues society is concerned with by encouraging an effective, anthropocentric architecture.
