The initial site layout provided for a wide two-storey base and a superimposed skyscraper consisting of successive vertical slabs. The building complex was eventually formed by two unequal towers and a spacious plaza. The zig-zag form of a lower building appears at the side of, and a little offset from the principle high-rise volume, sharing common design elements on the façades. The two main volumes rise over a wide, three-storey base, and communicate on the first floor level.
The three-storey base that includes double height areas, mezzanines, open-air walkways and indoor bridges between various sections, is aesthetically distinct from the main structure above it, which is formed by a succession of typical storeys in two separate towers originating from that base.
The Tower of Athens has the common typology of a skyscraper, with the central core of staircases and the surrounding office areas. What made it distinctive from the equivalent experience of an office tower abroad was the attempt to create a regionally justified form with base, body and crowning.
Within a broader context of austerity and simplicity, and with a more elaborate use of proportions on the elevations, an athenian skyscraper was erected, avoiding the repetitive use of a single dimension for the vertical elements, something that has often led in almost indifferent international examples.
