The project is concerned with the re-use of post-war office buildings in downtown Athens, through the proposition of a series of alternative renovation protocols. Identified as an exceptional part of the vacant building stock of Athens, the research is occupied with the transformation of this building type from a symbol of civic life and modernization, to a neglected object appropriated by the tourist industry. Through the analysis of its architectural characteristics, in combination with a different reading of legislative restrictions, the research questions the established modus operandi of renovation, and argues for its instrumentalization as a project for the city.