Alumotor is an innovative company operating in the field of specialized motorization for large-scale frameless systems across Greece. It is the only company in Greece that provides a fully integrated service, including the study, supply, and installation of the complete electronic and mechanical equipment required for the motorized operation of openings.

Alumotor’s engineers, with extensive experience in design and construction, deliver comprehensive study and design solutions tailored to the specific construction requirements of each project.

Applications & Customized Systems in Motorized Openings

The high-tech, specialized motorization systems adopt a holistic approach to the unique characteristics of each project, ensuring precision, safety, and cutting-edge aesthetics—even in the most demanding installations.

• Adaptable to all types of motorized systems, such as sliding, pocket sliding, corner systems, and complex movement configurations.
• Advanced automation allows the synchronization of two or more motorized systems (e.g. corner openings, curtain systems, etc.).
• Openings can be controlled individually or integrated into building automation systems.
• Obstacle detection systems and adjustable speed and force control are incorporated.
• Advanced system for precise travel distance measurement, eliminating the need for limit switches.
• High-spec electrical and mechanical equipment with industrial-grade drivers for absolute motor control, even in large and heavy systems.
• Flexible management solutions tailored to user needs and construction specifics (minimal structures, aluminum, wood, etc.).

Motorized systems can be seamlessly integrated with other technologies such as solar panels, sensors, security systems, and smart building management systems, enabling synchronization with lighting, heating, air conditioning, security, and remote control functions. The mechanism remains 100% concealed within the installation, ensuring a clean and minimal aesthetic result. Alumotor’s After Sales Service, including maintenance and warranty services, guarantees the uninterrupted operation of all systems.

Sculptural outline

The project, with a total area of 24,000 m², involves the creation of an office complex and Media Campus in Kifisia, incorporating state-of-the-art television and radio studios.

Design Philosophy

The design is driven by the concept of sculpting a monolithic volume, carving out cavities and introducing porosity within a solid structure. Within this interplay of mass and void, the program unfolds, reflecting the client’s core philosophy: the shaping of a continuous flow of information. Much like water gradually erodes stone, the architectural form emerges as a constructed “nature.” The result is a dynamic, sculptural building defined by its strong presence, articulated through the use of limestone, complemented by aluminum, bronze, and wood detailing.

Spatial Organization

At the main entrance, a three-story-high “cavity” clad in linear wooden elements creates a striking threshold that welcomes visitors. The concept of carving extends into the interior, where a central, light-filled “canyon” is formed. Through the subtraction of volume, bridges connect the opposing office wings, while vertical voids allow natural light to penetrate deep into the building via a glazed roof, reaching even the lower levels. In plan, the building is organized in a horseshoe configuration, with office zones facing the central atrium. This permeable space extends across five floors and incorporates smaller atria and sculptural bridges, establishing visual connections between levels and enhancing transparency throughout.

Due to the site’s elevation differences, a secondary entrance is located at the rear, combined with access to the underground parking. This entrance leads directly to the studio level, where all media-related functions such as the newsroom, control rooms, and support spaces, are arranged on a single plane, forming a unified and operationally efficient media hub with direct access to the surrounding environment.

Landscape Design & Sustainability

The television studios, designed according to the same principle of porosity, are clad externally with perforated aluminum panels that are internally illuminated. During the day, they appear as solid metallic volumes in dialogue with the central atrium, while at night, light filters through their perforated surfaces, revealing a lighter, more ethereal presence and expressing the activity within.

The surrounding landscape is organized to accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian flows, as well as the operational requirements of the studios. At the same time, a series of outdoor green areas is introduced, offering spaces for relaxation and extending the workplace environment. These gardens incorporate seating areas within diverse planting zones, forming an urban green enclave that enhances the local microclimate – both within the building and its surroundings, including the integration of sky gardens.

The project adheres to the highest environmental and acoustic standards. The careful integration of the complex technical requirements – particularly those associated with studio functions – into the architectural design ensures a seamless dialogue between technical performance and spatial quality. As a result, the building maintains a coherent architectural language and a distinct, unified identity.

Ritualistic process

LOULOU, an iconic boutique dedicated to rare and avant-garde eyewear, introduces its new space in Lyon, conceived as a spatial showcase that reflects both the exclusivity of its collections and the identity of the brand. Recognized internationally and ranked among the top five optical boutiques worldwide, the project articulates a synthesis of design, craftsmanship, and curated retail experience.

The boutique presents a carefully assembled selection of eyewear from international designers, emphasizing rarity, innovation, and the art of detail. Brands originating from diverse cultural contexts, including Japan, France, the United States, and Brazil, are brought together under a unified curatorial vision that foregrounds material precision and aesthetic clarity.

Retail Concept

Situated in a new address in Lyon, the store establishes itself as a destination for design-conscious audiences. The relocation marks a strategic evolution, transforming the boutique into a spatial narrative where objects are revealed progressively, fostering a sense of discovery. The retail experience departs from conventional optical environments, instead embracing a philosophy of “quiet luxury,” where discretion, refinement, and personal interaction define the product engagement.

This approach reframes the act of selection as an intimate and almost ritualistic process, where eyewear is introduced gradually, echoing gestures of hospitality and attentiveness. The boutique operates not only as a commercial space but also as a platform supporting independent design and local craftsmanship.

Spatial Organization

The proposal articulates a contemporary interior language through a restrained yet expressive palette of materials. Pink concrete, dark wood, and brushed metal are combined to construct a layered spatial environment that balances tactility with visual coherence.

The spatial organization unfolds as a sequence of intimate zones, culminating in a boudoir-like setting that enhances the experiential dimension of the visit. This configuration allows for both display and consultation, integrating functional requirements, such as eye testing, within a cohesive and refined architectural framework.

Material Palette

Materiality plays a central role in defining the identity of the space. The juxtaposition of raw and refined surfaces establishes a dialogue between permanence and precision, while the controlled use of color and texture contributes to an atmosphere of understated sophistication.

The detailing of the interior reinforces the brand’s commitment to craftsmanship, translating the qualities of the eyewear collections into spatial form. Through this approach, the boutique transcends its commercial function, becoming an architectural expression of curated design culture and sensory experience.

Shared core

The redesign of the Wealth Management department offices of a dynamic securities company in Athens presented an opportunity to upgrade employees’ everyday experience by improving the qualitative and functional aspects of their working environment. The offices occupy the ground floor of a six-story building dating back to the 1990s, where the existing condition served as the basis for a contemporary reinterpretation of the space.

Design Philosophy

A primary objective of the study was to provide sufficient workstations for a continuously expanding team, while also addressing needs for comfort, sound insulation, collaboration, and flexibility. The main challenge lay in accommodating a large number of users within a limited floor area, further complicated by the team’s hybrid working model.

The spatial organization is structured around an elongated, communal “core,” which functions as the main axis of circulation and activity. This core incorporates workstations, a lounge area, storage units, and auxiliary functions, while the more private workspaces are arranged around it. These include offices of varying capacity, an executive office, a meeting room, and supporting spaces such as a kitchenette and WC.

Material Palette

The dissolution of rigid boundaries is achieved through the use of glass partitions, enhancing visual continuity and reinforcing the perception of the space as a unified environment. At the same time, the “stripping back” of the building envelope – through the removal of suspended ceilings and the exposure of the structural and mechanical systems – introduces an aesthetic of honesty and industrial clarity.

In contrast to the exposed structural elements such as concrete, metal, and visible installations, the material palette is enriched with warm and tactile qualities: woven vinyl flooring in sandy tones, natural walnut veneer surfaces, upholstery fabrics with subtle color accents, and integrated greenery. The result is a balanced composition between technical austerity and spatial warmth.

Lighting & Acoustic Design

Lighting design played a crucial role, given the uneven distribution of natural light within the ground-floor space. Through a combination of direct and indirect artificial lighting, adjustable shading systems, and specialized window films, a balanced luminous environment is achieved while minimizing glare.

At the same time, acoustic comfort is ensured through the use of sound-absorbing materials, such as perforated surfaces, fabric shades, and specialized flooring, contributing to a calm and productive working atmosphere. Guided by the principles of clarity, transparency, and honesty, the project shapes a multifaceted and flexible workspace that encourages interaction, supports concentration, and enhances the overall daily experience of its users.

ELVIAL is entering a dynamic new phase of growth, announcing the implementation of a comprehensive investment program for the period 2026–2029, totaling more than €9 million. This investment plan has a clear development footprint and is accompanied by the creation of approximately 40 new jobs for scientific and specialized personnel, substantially strengthening the local economy and creating stable, high-quality employment prospects for the wider community.

The investment plan is structured around three key pillars: upgrading building facilities, modernizing and enhancing mechanical equipment, and accelerating digital transformation. Strategic objectives include a significant increase in productivity, strengthening capacity in processed products, and further improving overall operational efficiency.

In the production sector, the integration of modern technologies and the upgrading of equipment enhance the company’s ability to respond to projects with high technical requirements, delivering top quality, speed, and flexibility. At the same time, digital transformation acts as a catalyst for growth, with extensive ERP upgrades, strengthened cybersecurity, and expanded automation in critical operations.

Additionally, as part of the building interventions, the creation of the state-of-the-art ELVIAL Technology Centre is included. This Testing, Research, and Training Center functions as a core pillar of the company’s strategy to continuously strengthen expertise, innovation, and human capital development. The investment shapes a dynamic ecosystem of technological advancement, knowledge transfer, and continuous learning, substantially reinforcing the connection between education and the real needs of modern industry.

Investment in people remains a strategic priority. By strengthening its teams with specialized professionals, the company reinforces its expertise, accelerates the pace of innovation, and empowers its network of partners, shaping an even stronger and more competitive business ecosystem.

With the 2026–2029 investment program, ELVIAL lays the foundations for the next, even more ambitious phase of its growth trajectory. It enhances its industrial strength, accelerates its digital transformation, and leverages its human capital, with a steady focus on long-term value, sustainable development, and international competitiveness.

Biophilic design

The company’s offices, belonging to a global leader in the food industry, have been fully renovated, transitioning from a traditional layout to a biophilic, innovative work environment. Moving away from the conventional closed-office typology, the new space adopts a variety of scenarios. Centered around an open plan logic, the design introduces flexibility, enabling the creation of spaces that support diverse modes of collaboration.

Design Philosophy

Materials assume a defining role, shaping atmospheres that encourage a sense of engagement – an essential catalyst for fostering creativity. At the same time, sustainability is embedded as a key component, aligned with the company’s philosophy throughout the entire design process. Upon entry, the reception area conveys a welcoming character, with soft, curved wooden lines that gently embrace the Nestlé logo. Elements such as marble and an olive tree are incorporated to reinforce local identity, while the material and color palette subtly reference local brands. The company’s values are dynamically communicated through an LED wall that adjusts its lighting according to the time of day.

The overall design is organized around a layout accommodating approximately 50–60 workstations per floor, complemented by alternative work areas tailored to the needs of different departments. The workspace prioritizes the open plan concept and the diffusion of natural light through perimeter openings, minimizing visual barriers. At the center of the design lies the “core” – a closed, dynamic form that defines Nestlé’s new era while hosting a variety of functions across distinct zones.

Spatial Organization

Collaboration rooms, focus booths, pet corners, and recreational areas respond to the diverse needs of the workplace. The aesthetic of the core, linked to the motto “Growing Tree of Good Life,” aligns with the company’s work strategy, while relaxation areas and soft corners distributed throughout the layout promote a sense of comfort, facilitating dialogue and collaboration.

At the main entrance of each floor, a lounge meeting point welcomes visitors, functioning as a flexible space for waiting, relaxation, or informal meetings. Adjacent to it, the “Amphitheater” – inspired by Greek sculptural architecture – offers the possibility of large-scale open gatherings for idea exchange, combining physical presence with technology. Thematic leisure areas on each level act as landmarks that embrace the brand represented by each floor. The meeting room on the north side draws inspiration from the deep blue of the Aegean, symbolizing the dynamism of technology as a medium for next-generation communication and collaboration. Descending to the semi-basement level, users encounter the restaurant, which operates as a space for dining, meetings, or assemblies.

Materiality & Sustainability

Aiming to support this multifaceted narrative, the restaurant is equipped with flexible furniture that allows for alternative configurations, while plants, in combination with the surrounding outdoor environment, complete the design.

Across the project, 90% of the flooring consists of recyclable materials, wall claddings are made from natural materials such as wood and cork, and acoustic panels are constructed from recycled plastic bottles.

Sustainability lies at the core of the design, with each floor featuring dedicated recycling points for waste separation. The office is also pet-friendly, the first of its kind in Athens, featuring pet corners and a dedicated check-in/check-out system for companion animals.

Digital ecosystem

The Viva Wallet headquarters constitute a model working environment, with sustainability at the core of the architectural design. By maximizing natural light and introducing 2,234 plants from 35 different species, an artificial landscape is created that promotes wellbeing and team cohesion.

Brand Identity

Mediterranean gardens, lush with lavender, thyme, olive trees, and almond trees, articulate an architecture with a strong ecological consciousness, offering ideal conditions for creativity and innovation within the fast-paced context of the fintech world.

The twin-building complex, organized around a central atrium, operates as an administrative hub for the company’s European activities, accommodating 450 of its total 1,000 employees.

The architectural branding strategy developed for this project established the foundations for a unified corporate identity, applied across all 24 countries where Viva Wallet operates.

Spatial Organization

The transformation of the workplace model after the pandemic calls for new approaches to spatial design. The new headquarters is thus conceived not only as a place of work, but as a hub for interaction and creative exchange.

Flexible collaboration zones encourage communication and interaction, while areas for individual work provide conditions for focus and seclusion. Meeting rooms, defined by glass surfaces with varying degrees of transparency, maintain spatial continuity while ensuring privacy.

The working environment is further enriched through multifunctional configurations such as brainstorming caves, lounges, and a planted roof, offering alternative modes of working, coexisting, and relaxation. The atrium hosts the “Code Bites” restaurant, promoting gastronomic wellbeing as an integral aspect of corporate culture, while the rooftop café functions as an alternative social hub. Both facilities are designed to transform into amphitheatrical layouts for presentations and corporate events.

Materiality & Bioclimatic Design

The building’s aesthetic balances technology and nature, with a color palette that combines the deep blue of the corporate identity with earthy tones and natural materials. The bioclimatic design integrates a wide variety of plants, functioning as a living filter that purifies the air and reduces noise pollution. Large glass surfaces allow abundant natural light to penetrate the interior, significantly reducing energy consumption and enhancing indoor environmental quality.

The new Viva Wallet headquarters is not merely a workspace, but a complex ecosystem designed to respond to the evolving demands of the digital era. It reflects the transition from a static, linear model of work to a dynamic, sustainable, and adaptable environment, where physical presence acquires new meaning.

Its architecture serves not only productivity but equally wellbeing, creativity, and sustainable development, shaping a holistic model that supports contemporary professional life and anticipates the future of work.

Set within the Matosinhos Sul Urbanization Plan by Álvaro Siza, the former Brandão & Companhia canning factory occupies a privileged position near the coastline, retaining a strong connection to the industrial past and maritime identity of the area. The intervention reinterprets this legacy through a mixed-use development that consolidates healthcare, commercial, office, and residential functions within a unified architectural system, restoring the original envelope and chimney while introducing a contemporary layer. The proposal addresses the fragmentation of the existing structure by re-establishing continuity within the urban fabric. While the original volumetry occupied almost the entire plot, the project introduces permeable and green voids that allow natural light and circulation to penetrate the block.

04. Office Building in Attica | Georges Batzios Architects

ek Issue: 251 | October 2020

The existing building is one of the rare examples of the Brutalist architectural movement in Greece. It was constructed in 1972 and represents one of the most significant works by the Tombazis office. It served as a flagship for the company specializing in industrial concrete production. The revival of the historic building posed an ethical challenge in terms of the intervention limit on the existing structure. It is worth noting that over its 50 years of existence, the building had been covered in various hues and materials, with the most recent being an ochre shade, which obscured its original Brutalist texture. Therefore, the initial intervention focused on restoring the original (1972) composition of exposed concrete in all visible elements of the building (40,000 sqm).

05. Car Rental Hub | Veneris Architects

ek Issue: 276 | April 2023

The project concerns the creation of a car rental hub, located along the main road axis connecting the airport with the city of Chania. The central design concept is defined by the positioning of a pair of circular buildings along the imaginary extension of the nearby runway. The geometry of the buildings is based on simple geometric forms, aiming to produce a clear and legible architectural ensemble. The two volumes are arranged on a unified plaza, which operates as a transitional element between built and unbuilt space. Between the two building entities, a metal canopy is introduced, functioning both as a unifying compositional element and as a threshold zone mediating the transition of visitors from the exterior into the interior of the complex.

The company’s offices, belonging to a global leader in the food industry, have been fully renovated, transitioning from a traditional layout to a biophilic, innovative work environment. Moving away from the conventional closed-office typology, the new space adopts a variety of scenarios. Centered around an open plan logic, the design introduces flexibility, enabling the creation of spaces that support diverse modes of collaboration. Materials assume a defining role, shaping atmospheres that encourage a sense of engagement – an essential catalyst for fostering creativity. At the same time, sustainability is embedded as a key component, aligned with the company’s philosophy throughout the entire design process. Upon entry, the reception area conveys a welcoming character, with soft, curved wooden lines that gently embrace the Nestlé logo.

An existing 40-year-old office building is stripped back to its primary structure and comprehensively reinterpreted to respond to contemporary workplace demands. The initial massing logic is recovered and clarified, transforming what was once a fragmented and visually inconsistent assemblage into a cohesive composition. The building is rearticulated as a constellation of twelve distinct volumes, each defined by its own cladding strategy and spatial atmosphere, establishing a new architectural identity rooted in differentiation and clarity. The intervention operates through a process of subtraction and redefinition. By removing non-essential layers, the original structural framework is revealed and reorganized, allowing the building’s inherent geometry to be legible once again.

The OTE Headquarters in Athens is the realized architectural study of a multi-storey office building, star-shaped in plan, based on the proposal that was awarded second prize among twelve selected entries. The project concerns the renovation and reconstruction of office and communal spaces from the 2nd to the 13th floor; a decision made in 2019 within the framework of modernization and energy upgrading of the building envelope. The construction of the original volume began in 1974, with several modifications to the initial plans, while the building was ultimately put into operation in the 1980s, consolidating all services of the “Hellenic Telecommunications Organization.” On a plot of 52 stremmas, a building with a total floor area of 65,000m² was developed.

In 2019, the Dimnikcobau company organized an international competition to design the DCB business center in the Moste industrial zone of Ljubljana. The project transcends the building’s functional character as an office space turning it into an urban catalyst, adding value to this suburban area which is historically linked to generic spaces for business and logistics. The compact space of the new building, with the ground floor shaped like a rhomboid and 10 floors above ground level, is taller than neighboring buildings and dominates the landscape of the area. The diagonal displacement of the ground floor allows access to the central foyer consisting of a large atrium with a fluid shape and which goes up vertically to end in a skylight overhead. The atrium opens up to the exterior through two large windows that are the height of three levels, and which add a sculptural character to the space, allowing it to be bathed in natural light from two sides, as well as allowing views of the city’s outline and the mountainous Alpine scenery from its terraces.

Constellation of volumes

An existing 40-year-old office building is stripped back to its primary structure and comprehensively reinterpreted to respond to contemporary workplace demands. The initial massing logic is recovered and clarified, transforming what was once a fragmented and visually inconsistent assemblage into a cohesive composition. The building is rearticulated as a constellation of twelve distinct volumes, each defined by its own cladding strategy and spatial atmosphere, establishing a new architectural identity rooted in differentiation and clarity.

Intervention Strategy

The intervention operates through a process of subtraction and redefinition. By removing non-essential layers, the original structural framework is revealed and reorganized, allowing the building’s inherent geometry to be legible once again. The front façade adopts a restrained material palette, articulated through subtle tonal variations of white, grey, black, and gold. A newly introduced curtain wall defines the primary elevation, while a sequence of cast-in-place terrazzo steps establishes a clear and generous entrance gesture.

In contrast, the rear elevation embraces a more expressive and playful language. Individual volumes are distinguished through color and material differentiation: a pale turquoise-clad elevator core, a striped black-and-white staircase punctuated by yellow window frames, a pink-rendered service core, and blue metal-clad office spaces. This chromatic distribution extends throughout the building, generating a dynamic interplay between interior and exterior surfaces.

Spatial Organization & Environmental Strategy

The building is reoriented to engage more directly with its adjacent natural park, introducing new openings within previously opaque façades. These interventions enhance visual connectivity while significantly improving daylight penetration, addressing the limitations of the original low ceiling heights.

At roof level, a landscaped green roof is combined with a circular pergola, forming a sequence of outdoor workspaces and social areas. These elevated spaces accommodate informal gatherings, events, and moments of exchange, extending the program beyond the conventional office environment.  

Sustainability is integrated as a core design parameter. The project incorporates high-performance insulation systems, energy-efficient glazing, locally sourced materials, and low-energy mechanical systems. Additional features include photovoltaic panels, electric vehicle charging stations, and bicycle parking, contributing to the building’s A+ energy efficiency rating.

Material Palette

The interior design negotiates between preservation and transformation. Existing black marble flooring is restored, while suspended ceilings are removed to expose the raw concrete structure and its irregular formwork. This juxtaposition of refined and unfinished surfaces establishes a consistent material language across all levels.

Each floor is further differentiated through bespoke architectural elements and furniture interventions. These range from sculptural marble seating installations to a vivid red perforated metal library and expansive shared worktables. On the ground floor, a generous red terrazzo staircase operates simultaneously as circulation and as an amphitheatrical space for events, linking to a luminous mezzanine above.

Davide Groppi is an Italian lighting designer, born in Piacenza. In the late 1980s, after an initial training in drafting, he started a small workshop in the historic heart of the city, inventing and manufacturing lamps with the brand by his same name. Over time, creative independence and management have allowed him to develop his own brand of original and unique products, distributed the world over. In his work, simplicity, lightness, emotion, invention, and amazement are the fundamental elements. The things that inspire these ideas are works of art, ready-made objects, magic, the desire to make things with his hands or simply the urge to play and have fun with light.

S.M.: What drew you to lighting design in the first place? Which different aspects of design did your interest shift to during your activity?

D.G.: The need to communicate and do a job that belonged to me. Light has always fascinated me, and I have always liked the idea of telling stories with my lamps. Now I am mainly interested in the immaterial aspect of light, and therefore the possibility of inventing something new, never seen before.

S.M.: Your breakthrough design came through an encounter with Maddalena de Padova, from an already established company mostly centered around furniture; beyond image or typology, what do you think lay at the essence of this design to match with the sensibility of the brand?

D.G.: I believe that Maddalena De Padova felt my passion for light and lamps. And, also, a certain way of describing my work.

S.M.: Design and production are strictly linked. How early did you choose to become a producer of your own designs, and what have been the advantages and disadvantages of managing both fields?

D.G.: Immediately. I was too young to think about presenting my ideas to companies. So, I imagined self-producing what I invented. It was an adventure, but I had the opportunity to grow independently and free from the typical constraints of the industry.

Read the full interview in the annual issue Villas 2024.

Geometric accents

The project concerns the creation of a car rental hub, located along the main road axis connecting the airport with the city of Chania. The central design concept is defined by the positioning of a pair of circular buildings along the imaginary extension of the nearby runway.

Design Philosophy

The geometry of the buildings is based on simple geometric forms, aiming to produce a clear and legible architectural ensemble. The two volumes are arranged on a unified plaza, which operates as a transitional element between built and unbuilt space. Between the two building entities, a metal canopy is introduced, functioning both as a unifying compositional element and as a threshold zone mediating the transition of visitors from the exterior into the interior of the complex.

The initial concept proposed the creation of two circular, single-space halls, organized through a peripheral arrangement of counters or kiosks, following a spatial typology commonly found in airport environments. At the same time, the design needed to accommodate the potential subdivision of the buildings into independent offices and retail units with direct access from the exterior. The circular geometry proved particularly effective in supporting multiple usage scenarios.

Functional Organization

At ground level, the buildings host the offices of four car rental companies, while the upper floors accommodate independent office spaces available for lease. The basement levels include auxiliary functions serving the retail units, visitor sanitary facilities, a car wash, and additional electromechanical installations.

The outdoor space is carefully configured to support the continuous circulation of small vans transporting customers to and from the airport, while also maximizing the number of parking spaces and vehicle handover points.

Material Palette

The folded metal envelope, aluminum cladding, and the use of high-specification glazing and panel systems form a coherent architectural vocabulary that aims to establish a distinct identity for the development, while simultaneously providing a flexible design framework for future expansion.

Citadel Within the City

Set within the Matosinhos Sul Urbanization Plan by Álvaro Siza, the former Brandão & Companhia canning factory occupies a privileged position near the coastline, retaining a strong connection to the industrial past and maritime identity of the area. The intervention reinterprets this legacy through a mixed-use development that consolidates healthcare, commercial, office, and residential functions within a unified architectural system, restoring the original envelope and chimney while introducing a contemporary layer.

Urban Integration

The proposal addresses the fragmentation of the existing structure by re-establishing continuity within the urban fabric. While the original volumetry occupied almost the entire plot, the project introduces permeable and green voids that allow natural light and circulation to penetrate the block. These interstitial spaces generate visual and physical connections between programs, enhancing accessibility to upper levels and fostering interaction within a dense, multifunctional urban environment. The ground floor accommodates commercial and service functions, offices are positioned on the first level, and residential units are organized in elevated volumes.

Programmatic Organization

At the entrance to the residential areas, a reception space opens onto a patio that operates as the central node of circulation, linking communal zones and distributing movement across the complex. The spatial hierarchy is structured to balance privacy and collectivity, ensuring fluid transitions between different uses. The distribution of the building mass into distinct volumes creates a dynamic composition that responds both to the scale of the plot and to the surrounding urban context.

Material Palette

The architectural language is articulated through a juxtaposition of materials with varying densities, notably pigmented concrete and aluminum stretched mesh. This contrast reflects the dialogue between past and present, emphasizing both the solidity of the existing structure and the lightness of the newly inserted volumes. Suspended above the courtyard, these elements introduce a sense of elevation and permeability, with a material palette inspired by the proximity to the sea. The intervention ultimately establishes a balanced relationship with adjacent buildings and the public realm, contributing to the revitalization of the block and supporting a broader strategy of sustainable urban development.

LG Electronics (LG) introduces its new generation of professional monitors, designed to meet the increasing demands of modern professionals such as graphic designers, architects, video editors, and healthcare specialists. Combining advanced display technologies, high color accuracy, and versatile connectivity options, LG’s professional monitors provide a comprehensive working environment for creative and scientific fields that rely on visual precision.

LG’s professional monitor series are engineered with performance and reliability in mind. Featuring resolutions of up to 4K and 5K2K, along with Nano IPS technology, the monitors deliver vivid and accurate colors, covering a wide range of professional color spaces such as DCI-P3. This makes them ideal for graphic designers, photographers, and content creators who require faithful image reproduction and detailed editing of images and video. At the same time, high contrast and HDR support enable more accurate rendering of bright and dark areas, contributing to a more realistic result in multimedia production.

For professionals working in demanding design environments, such as architects and engineers, LG UltraWide monitors offer expanded workspace and advanced multitasking capabilities. With a large display area and features such as Screen Split and Picture-by-Picture, users can manage multiple applications and design files simultaneously, significantly improving workflow in CAD, 3D modeling, and architectural design applications.

At the same time, LG is developing specialized solutions for the medical sector, offering medical monitors designed for precise visualization of medical images. With high resolution, IPS technology, and compliance with the DICOM Part 14 standard for accurate grayscale rendering, these monitors support diagnosis and analysis of radiological examinations, contributing to the reliability of medical imaging.

Ergonomics is also a key element in LG monitor design. Adjustable stands allow for height, tilt, and pivot customization, while modern connectivity options such as USB-C and Thunderbolt facilitate seamless integration with contemporary workstations and laptops. This enables professionals to create a more efficient and organized working environment.

With a strong focus on innovation, image quality, and reliability, LG’s professional monitors represent a comprehensive solution for professionals who demand top-level visual accuracy and high productivity in their daily work.

The professional monitors are backed by a 3-year comprehensive warranty and a 3-year zero pixel defect warranty.

Discover more about LG’s professional monitor range: https://www.lg.com/gr/monitor

LG Electronics (LG) is presenting its full range of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions at the Mostra Convegno Expocomfort (MCE) 2026 exhibition in Milan, Italy, from March 24 to 27. LG’s latest residential and commercial solutions – including its iF Design Award 2026-winning air-to-water heat pump indoor units – are designed to meet Europe’s accelerating electrification trends and diverse installation environments.

Enhanced Domestic Hot Water Solutions Designed for European Homes

LG has strengthened its residential heating portfolio with an expanded range of solutions specifically designed for European households. This lineup includes the Therma V™ Monobloc S, an all-in-one system using R290 refrigerant, which can be combined with a buffer tank, domestic hot water tank, and controller to create a high-performance, integrated solution for space heating and hot water supply.

At MCE, LG is also showcasing its new indoor units for air-to-water heat pump systems. The Control, Hydro, and Combi Units feature refined, premium designs that blend seamlessly with most interiors and include a 6.8-inch color touchscreen for intuitive control. The Combi Unit supports space heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, while the Hydro Unit simplifies installation with front access and a bracket-type mounting system. The Control Unit features integrated heating control logic, reducing the need for additional components.

Each unit has a compact design for flexible placement and is equipped with Wi-Fi and LG ThinQ technology, enabling remote monitoring, simplified commissioning, and easy system management.

LG’s residential water heater range for Europe includes both heat pump and electric models, catering to various installation conditions and hot water needs. The heat pump water heater uses R290 – a refrigerant with a low global warming potential (GWP) – to reduce environmental impact, while LG’s electric water heaters deliver strong performance along with improved durability and hygiene.

In addition, MCE attendees can explore LG’s range of indoor units, including wall-mounted, console, and floor-standing models. The fan coil units (FCUs), adapted to local conditions, offer flexible solutions and support efficient integration into Europe’s diverse installation environments. For smart home connectivity, LG introduces a gateway compatible with the Electric Energy Bus (EEBUS) standard, enabling intelligent energy control and broader compatibility with smart grids.

Residential Air Conditioning: Comfort and Convenience Powered by AI

LG’s residential air conditioner lineup, including the DUALCOOL™ AI, ARTCOOL™ AI, and ARTCOOL™ Gallery models, delivers personalized comfort through intelligent AI-based control.

These advanced models utilize LG’s AI Air™ technology, which analyzes usage patterns and indoor conditions to precisely adjust airflow direction, speed, and temperature. Maintenance is made easier with accessible filter systems and efficient internal cleaning functions. LG ThinQ connectivity allows users to remotely control their air conditioners, manage energy consumption, and monitor indoor air quality.

Advanced HVAC Solutions for Commercial Applications

For the commercial sector, LG offers a complete portfolio of integrated solutions prioritizing efficiency, safety, and scalability. The redesigned Multi V™ i VRF system ensures intelligent and efficient operation using low-GWP R32 refrigerant. It also incorporates robust refrigerant safety measures, including sensors that trigger automatic protective responses in case of leaks, ensuring operational continuity and safety.

In collaboration with Hoval, a leading European manufacturer of air handling units (AHUs), LG will showcase the expanded connectivity capabilities of the Multi V i system. The combination of LG’s VRF system and Hoval’s AHUs delivers a high-performance solution suitable for a wide range of commercial environments.

Designed to simplify system management, the LG ACP i controller features an intuitive, AI-enhanced interface that facilitates efficient facility control and provides accurate energy consumption analysis.

LG’s Inverter Scroll Chillers / heat pumps offer modular scalability, making them ideal for large-scale applications. Multiple units can be combined for higher capacity, ensuring efficient coordination and stable performance across the system.

“LG is committed to delivering comprehensive HVAC solutions tailored to European installation environments, climate conditions, and energy standards,” said James Lee, President of LG ES Company. “Through continuous innovation, we are shaping excellence in HVAC systems in Europe—and worldwide—with solutions that are efficient, intelligent, and future-ready.”

LG welcomes visitors to MCE 2026 and invites them to explore its latest HVAC innovations for residential and commercial applications at booths #5U29 and #5Z22 at Fiera Milano.

Notes:

• The energy efficiency rating is A+++/A++ at temperatures of 35/55 degrees Celsius.
• The R290 refrigerant has a GWP of 0.02, while R32 has a GWP of 675, according to EU Regulation 2024/573 (IPCC 6th Assessment Report).
• The LG ARTCOOL AI is available in a range of matte and glossy finishes.
• LG Inverter Scroll Heat Pump Chillers feature a modular design with a 105 kW unit. Product configurations can consist of 105/210/315 kW and are expandable up to 1890 kW (6 units).

Extroverted geometry

Simple linear geometries, clarity of form, brightness, and a sense of freshness are combined with functionality and warmth to shape the design of the “Pick Up” all day coffee & brunch. Conceived through an extroverted spatial approach, the project emphasizes the relationship between interior and exterior, establishing an active dialogue with the street and the surrounding neighborhood. By employing a restrained palette of low-cost materials – terracotta brick, glossy white ceramic tiles, polished cement screed, and birch plywood – the space articulates a timeless aesthetic through a contemporary architectural lens.

Spatial Organization

The composition is structured into two primary zones: an open bar dedicated to coffee and food preparation, and a seating area for guests. This clear functional division enhances usability while maintaining visual continuity across the space. A linear built-in bench in terracotta, fixed constructions clad in ceramic tiles, and a custom-made installation composed of reused broken tiles contribute to a cohesive and adaptable interior environment. The arrangement prioritizes both efficiency and comfort, reinforcing the social character of the café.

Material Palette

White-painted interior surfaces operate as a neutral background, allowing the tactile presence of terracotta and the reflective quality of glossy ceramic tiles to emerge as dominant elements. The polished cement screed flooring, rendered in a concrete tone, introduces a sense of material density and continuity, grounding the interior composition. The integration of greenery further enhances spatial freshness, strengthening the connection between inside and outside while softening the mineral palette.

Brand Design

The design logic extends seamlessly to the exterior, where the façade becomes an active component of the project’s identity. A custom-made circular sign, crafted from terracotta and white ceramic tiles, serves as a focal point, visually anchoring the café within its urban context. This gesture consolidates the project’s material language and reinforces its presence in the streetscape, completing a unified architectural narrative that bridges interior atmosphere and public interface.

Consolidating functions

The Exeter Road Pavilion is an adaptive reuse of a modest Victorian garden outbuilding in northwest London, reimagined as a hybrid domestic and social space for an art collector and amateur DJ. Conceived as both a storage environment and a setting for leisure, the project consolidates diverse functions – archiving, display, gathering, and recreation – within a unified architectural gesture that extends from interior to landscape.

Design Philosophy

At the core of the proposal lies a continuous cabinet, operating as a contemporary cabinet of curiosities. Beginning within the refurbished structure and extending outward into the garden, this linear element accommodates an array of uses: art storage and display, shelving for books and vinyl records, a DJ station, a television, and personal artifacts. As it moves outdoors, it integrates recreational functions, including a ping-pong table, weights, and garden games, maintaining spatial continuity across interior and exterior domains.

Encased in a perforated stainless-steel screen, the cabinet oscillates between transparency and opacity. Its surface reflects and filters light, producing shifting visual conditions throughout the day. This duality allows the cabinet to simultaneously reveal and conceal its contents, reinforcing its role as both container and spatial mediator.

Structural Logic

The cabinet operates not only as storage but also as a structural system, supporting the canopy that extends over the outdoor space. The relationship between these elements introduces a deliberate tension, inspired by the precarious compositions of Fischli & Weiss. Rather than adhering to conventional structural logic, the design removes an expected column, redistributing forces through a counterbalancing system.

This equilibrium is achieved through a precisely milled marble mass embedded within a galvanized steel I-beam, paired with a tension rod anchored to a concealed concrete block below ground. The resulting configuration establishes a legible yet unconventional structural narrative, where balance is perceived as dynamic and contingent rather than fixed.

Materials & Sustainability

The canopy itself is composed of layered materials – marble, steel, and polycarbonate – articulated in a clear tectonic hierarchy. Stainless steel cladding on the cabinet mirrors the surrounding vegetation, while translucent roofing elements diffuse light into the space below. This material palette oscillates between raw and refined, grounding the project in both industrial precision and environmental responsiveness.

Through reflection, translucency, and spatial extension, the pavilion dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior. It becomes an instrument for observing seasonal and daily changes, where light, vegetation, and built form interact continuously. The project ultimately establishes a condition in which structure, storage, and landscape remain in constant and perceptible dialogue.

Cohesive framework

Conceived as a new architectural landmark for South Tyrol, the Museum Depot responds to the need for a centralized facility dedicated to the protection, conservation, and public accessibility of the region’s cultural assets. The project rethinks the fragmented system of existing depots, consolidating diverse collections into a unified structure that accommodates over one million objects, ranging from artworks and museum holdings to archaeological finds and audiovisual archives.

Programmatic Integration

The proposal addresses a dual objective: to operate as a highly efficient preservation facility while simultaneously engaging with the cultural and institutional demands of the region. Rather than functioning as a series of isolated storage units, the building establishes a cohesive framework that integrates research, conservation, and exhibition. Offices, laboratories, workshops, storage areas, and public galleries coexist within a single architectural system, fostering collaboration and exchange between institutions.

The spatial organization prioritizes relationships and workflows, structuring the program around a central courtyard that introduces natural light into the working environments while offering visual and physical access to a landscaped outdoor space. This arrangement enhances both functionality and user experience, positioning the depot as an active cultural infrastructure rather than a purely technical repository.

Spatial Strategy & Sustainability

A key aspect of the design lies in the careful distribution of functions across different levels. Storage and exhibition spaces are located underground, ensuring stable climatic conditions essential for the long-term preservation of sensitive artifacts. Above ground, administrative and research functions benefit from daylight and visual permeability, creating a balanced working environment.

Circulation is conceived as a continuous and legible system, connecting the various programmatic elements while reinforcing their interdependence. The interior is defined by clear spatial sequences and controlled transitions, allowing both staff and visitors to navigate seamlessly through the building.

Design Philosophy

The architectural form draws from the vernacular typologies of South Tyrol’s alpine and valley regions, translating traditional elements into a contemporary language. A raised, pitched roof defines the building’s silhouette, while the street-facing entrance opens into a transparent and welcoming foyer.

Partially embedded into the ground, the structure reduces its visual impact and establishes a sensitive relationship with the surrounding landscape. The green roof extends the natural terrain, reinforcing continuity between the built form and its environment. This integration is further emphasized by the material palette and the modulation of volumes, which echo local architectural references while maintaining a distinct contemporary identity.

The main entrance connects directly to the urban fabric and adjacent plaza, while additional access points through underground parking ensure functional efficiency. At the heart of the interior, a sculptural spiral staircase acts as both a spatial and symbolic element, linking the exhibition spaces below with the public and administrative areas above.

Upon completion, the Museum Depot will not only provide optimal conservation conditions for previously dispersed collections but will also reposition them as accessible and active components of the region’s cultural landscape, reinforcing their value within both local and broader contexts.

Core of everyday life

In the heart of the settlement of Pollonia in Milos, a polygonal plot is transformed into a complex spatial organism, where the notion of the courtyard is reinterpreted as the core of everyday life. The proposal reconstructs the atmosphere of the Cycladic village through a contemporary architectural language, creating an environment that balances between privacy and collectivity.

Design Philosophy

The plan unfolds along the perimeter of the plot, with independent rooms arranged as volumes tracing its boundary. Within, a network of courtyards and pathways is formed, composing a sequence of open and semi-open spaces. The visitor is invited to navigate this system, discovering hidden corners and inner gardens, and choosing between moments of seclusion or social interaction.

The architectural experience is structured as a succession of spatial transitions, where movement becomes a key tool for understanding the project. The routes are non-linear, gradually revealing the whole and reinforcing the sense of a village at a micro scale.

Materiality & Architectural Language

The volumes develop across two levels, forming a clear dual material expression. A grounded base of exposed stone anchors the composition, while the white upper level appears to hover lightly above it, separated by a subtle shadow gap. This contrast enhances the plasticity of the composition and articulates the relationship between heaviness and lightness.

The architectural language of projections, corners, and openings generates a dynamic interplay of light and shadow, constantly shifting throughout the day. Light operates as an active design element, revealing material textures and intensifying spatial perception.

Finally, a third layer of materiality is introduced through metal elements. Pergolas and vertical corten features define the boundaries of the gardens, filter light, and create intermediate zones of privacy.

Spatial Organization

The six suites, featuring double-height interiors, are conceived as minimal and luminous spaces of accommodation. The architecture avoids unnecessary decoration, allowing the contrasts between materials and light to shape the atmosphere.

The courtyard, as a fundamental element of Cycladic typology, re-emerges as a place of gathering and social interaction. Sheltered from the wind, it functions as an inner garden where guests form a temporary community. Through this gesture, the architecture establishes the conditions for shared experiences, conversation, and exchange.

The project constitutes a contemporary interpretation of the traditional settlement, where respect for place is combined with the creation of new modes of inhabitation. It is an environment that balances individuality and collectivity, offering a refuge of simplicity and authenticity within the landscape of Milos.

Spatial mediator

Set within the tall perimeter walls of a disused factory, the project unfolds as a carefully orchestrated intervention that redefines the relationship between domestic life, industrial memory, and landscape. Rather than demolishing the existing structure, the proposal preserves its masonry enclosure, transforming constraints into spatial opportunities. Hidden behind a modest entrance, the residence reveals itself gradually, structured around a central open-air garden that becomes the core of the architectural composition.

Renovation Strategy

Facing a public square in Lendinara, the project presents a restrained and almost opaque exterior. A tall wall, marked by an irregular profile, recalls the layered history of industrial constructions in the area. The only visible opening – a small iron door – conceals the spatial richness beyond. Once inside, the perception shifts dramatically, revealing a lush, enclosed garden defined by high walls and climbing vegetation.

Located in a context where traces of past industrial activity coexist with residential fabric and green spaces, the project engages directly with its surroundings. The proximity to the public park and the historic garden of Ca’ Dolfin-Marchiori informs the architectural strategy, introducing landscape as an essential component of the dwelling experience.

Landscape Design

At the heart of the project lies the garden, conceived as an open-air room that organizes the entire domestic program. Created through the partial demolition of the factory roof and the repositioning of the new volume, this green courtyard introduces light, air, and visual continuity into an otherwise introverted structure.

The house develops as a compact, two-level volume inserted within the preserved perimeter walls. Its spatial configuration establishes a continuous dialogue with the garden, most notably through a double-height living space that opens fully onto it via a large, glazed façade. Framed by a timber lattice structure, this transparent surface mediates between interior and exterior, reinforcing the vertical rhythm of the composition and extending into the roof geometry.

Design Philosophy

The project is defined by a deliberate interplay between openness and enclosure, visibility and concealment. From the street, the house remains entirely hidden, while internally it unfolds through carefully framed views toward greenery. This sequence of spatial transitions constructs a controlled yet dynamic experience of movement and perception.

Materially and structurally, the intervention balances timber, steel, and glass within the existing masonry framework. The new construction echoes the industrial profile of the former building, while introducing a refined architectural language that emphasizes lightness and spatial continuity.

Guided by the notion of landscape as an architectural device, the design moves beyond nostalgic references to industrial heritage. Instead, it repositions the garden as a fundamental condition of contemporary dwelling – not as a decorative element, but as a necessary spatial and environmental mediator that defines the identity of the house.

Lighting compositions

In mid-July, the new architectural lighting installation for the Hellenic Parliament Building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was completed, accompanied by the energy upgrade of the underground parking areas and the complex’s nursery facility. The new lighting design seeks to redefine the nocturnal presence of the building and its surrounding space, situating the intervention within a contemporary framework of environmental responsibility and sustainability.

Lighting Philosophy & LED Technology

The new lighting scheme was implemented exclusively using advanced LED technology, with particular emphasis on chromatic consistency and precise control of the light sources. Each luminaire is digitally controlled in terms of both intensity and operating duration, allowing the creation of dynamic lighting scenarios with a high degree of accuracy.

The combined use of energy-efficient light sources and an automated high-precision control system ensures optimal energy performance. From sunset onwards, the luminous composition of the façades evolves subtly, with smooth transitions in intensity that respond to the time of day, the day of the week, and the season, forming a dynamic yet refined nocturnal image.

Technical Characteristics

A central focus of the study was the mitigation of light pollution. For this reason, the lighting system allows for the automatic adjustment of colour temperature, shifting from cooler white tones to warmer light. The warmer spectrum, characterised by reduced blue light content, significantly limits the impact on the night sky.

This transition takes place daily from midnight until dawn, ensuring that the lighting remains compatible with the city’s natural nocturnal environment. At the same time, the luminaires are equipped with precision optical systems, lockable aiming mechanisms and anti-glare accessories, minimizing light spill toward the sky.

At the compositional level, the lighting highlights the façades of both the Parliament Building and the Monument, emphasizing the rhythm and plasticity of architectural elements such as pediments, cornices, pilasters and porticoes, as well as individual features including the monument’s central relief, shields and inscriptions. In parallel, light sources with a high colour rendering index revive the texture and colour of the materials, as well as the sculptures of Eleftherios Venizelos, Charilaos Trikoupis and the figure of the Mother.

Energy Upgrade

The integration of the new lighting equipment was carried out with particular care, ensuring that the morphological characteristics of the listed historic building were preserved. The luminaires installed on the façades underwent special colour treatment to match the surface of installation, allowing them to remain almost invisible during the daytime. In addition, the historic lamp posts and decorative lanterns of the Parliament complex were restored and upgraded.

Over the 15-month construction period, the project presented significant technical challenges, as all works were carried out while the building remained in full operation. The age of the building, combined with the numerous interventions that have taken place over the past 180 years, made the management of electrical routes particularly demanding, while the hybrid nature of the lighting management system required the extensive installation of fibre-optic networks.

Specially designed luminaires were also developed for specific architectural elements, such as the coffers of the porticoes, ensuring that the final result responded fully to the particular spatial requirements. The interventions were carried out with the contribution of a specialized conservation team, ensuring the protection of the building’s aesthetic and historical integrity.

The project’s energy upgrade is particularly significant. In the five-level underground parking facility and the nursery building, nominal energy consumption was reduced from 137KW in the previous installation to 41KW. Furthermore, thanks to the intelligent lighting management system, the final energy consumption is limited to just 29KW. This substantial reduction enhances the overall energy efficiency of the complex while contributing to the sustainable operation of one of the country’s most emblematic public buildings.

Relief continuation

The hotel is located at the edge of the traditional settlement of Oia, at the top of the volcanic cliffs of the Caldera. The site has a steep slope, a south-western orientation and unobstructed views toward the sea and the volcano.

Restoration Strategy

Within the plot there were ruined cave structures previously used as storage spaces, stables and cellars, as well as an old cubic house located at the northeastern corner. The objective of the project was the reconstruction of the pre-existing buildings and the addition of new cave rooms and communal areas, forming a hotel complex.

As a result, the hotel includes a small reception area, sixteen rooms, a restaurant, a shared swimming pool and a gym-spa. These functions are arranged gradually across the six levels of the complex. The entrance, accessed from the main pedestrian path of the settlement, is located at the upper level together with the reception and an outdoor seating area.

Spatial Organization

A central outdoor staircase leads from the upper level to the restaurant and the pool, connecting the three intermediate levels that accommodate the guest rooms with their private courtyards and pools. The lowest level includes the spa reception, a small gym, massage rooms, hammam, sauna, sanitary facilities and storage areas, as well as a sheltered relaxation courtyard at the edge of the cliff.

The proposal aimed both at the faithful restoration of the pre-existing buildings and the construction of new cave structures in the spirit of a contemporary and subtle reinterpretation of the cubic morphology of the old settlement, while maintaining a continuous relationship with the natural topography of the Caldera. The form of the new cave spaces preserves the structure of the traditional ones, along with their geometric shapes, materiality and white color.

The typologies of the floor plans, as well as the openings, are oriented so as to frame the view toward the sea. As a result, the façades follow the natural contour lines as broken geometries, resembling folded retaining walls that integrate gently into the landscape. The layering of these compositional strategies ultimately defines the final form of the building and its strong spatial dynamism. The descending movement of the central outdoor staircase, from the hotel entrance to the lowest level, resembles a “crack” in the “body” of the building, guiding movement and directing visitors toward the various private and communal areas.

Materials & Lighting

The interior design follows a strict minimalist approach based on the principles of Cycladic architecture. In the pre-existing cave spaces, a “total white” atmosphere prevails, with subtle touches of iridescent gold and green, while soft curves and freestanding furniture with organic forms highlight and enrich their natural plasticity.

The aesthetic of the new cave rooms is characterized by more intense colors, in the spirit of a “vie en bleu”, with abstract references to the cosmopolitan resorts of the Mediterranean south. These references become more geometric, linking the shapes and volumes of the interior with the forms of the exterior composition.

The lighting of the complex operates in a discreet manner, enhancing the sculptural quality of the white volumes and the experience of movement through the landscape. Along the outdoor pathways and staircases, low-intensity linear luminaires are integrated into the architecture, emphasizing the geometry of the walls and guiding visitors during nighttime circulation. The illuminated pools act as diffused luminous surfaces within the composition, creating soft reflections across the cave volumes. Inside the rooms, lighting remains subtle and integrated into the curved surfaces, highlighting the minimalist aesthetic and the sculptural qualities of Cycladic architecture.

Flow and Tranquility

On Hudayriyat Island in Abu Dhabi, between the desert and the sea, the Ilios Beach Club and the Nalu Surf Club redefine the experience of surf culture and hospitality. The two luxury venues are located at the heart of Surf Abu Dhabi, the largest and most advanced artificial wave facility in the world.

Design Philosophy

The conceptual starting point was the dynamic moment when the surfer meets the wave – immersion, resistance, flow and the eventual return to calm. This sequence of intensity and release is translated into an architectural narrative, where rhythm, pause and movement organize the transition between the two venues and guide the visitor’s spatial experience.

Spatial Organization

Ilios Beach Club expresses the harmony and elegance of surf culture. The ground floor opens visually towards the surrounding landscape, while the first-floor lounge functions as a point of pause, offering panoramic views of the setting. Throughout the day, lighting and atmosphere gradually shift, creating a transition from daylight conditions to a more theatrical nighttime environment.

In contrast, the Nalu Surf Club embodies the vibrant and unpretentious energy of the surf lifestyle. Warm tones and textures reminiscent of sand, salt and weathered wood create a more grounded atmosphere. The ground floor remains active throughout the day, while the first-floor VIP lounge provides a more private and inward-looking experience.

At the center of the complex lies the striking wave pool, measuring 65m in length and 14m in width, which defines the scale, rhythm and intensity of the architectural composition. The curves of the waves are translated into undulating ceilings, fluid lines, multiple levels and axial pathways that shape movement throughout the complex.

Materials & Lighting

The material palette reinforces this sense of flow and continuity. Travertine, oak timber, teak and iroko, ribbed glass, sculptural details and finishes made from natural fibers create a warm and tactile environment.

Natural lighting and cross ventilation are maximized, strengthening the connection between the space and the elements of wind and sun – essential aspects of the surfing experience. At the same time, a multilayered artificial lighting scheme highlights the curves and geometries of the architecture, emphasizing the spatial composition during nighttime hours.

Through Ilios and Nalu, a unified architectural ensemble emerges, balancing flow and stillness. The result is a multisensory hospitality experience rooted in rhythm, equilibrium and the authenticity of surf culture.

Spatial scenography

The aim of the project was the complete conversion of a residence originally designed in the early 1980s by architect N. Valsamakis. Located in Panorama, Thessaloniki, the building now accommodates the Siskou Derma Clinic, a contemporary dermatology center that seeks to redefine the typology of the medical space in Greece, creating an environment of refined familiarity, far removed from the conventions of the typical medical office.

Design Philosophy

The original residence is a characteristic example of the modern movement in the city, defined by clear geometric compositions, balanced volumes and a striking white plaster finish that emphasizes the plasticity of its form. The intervention sought to preserve the architectural identity of the initial design while introducing new elements that ensure functional upgrading and spatial coherence.

The design strategy focused on reinterpreting the experience of a medical environment, drawing references from contemporary European clinic architecture. Through subtle interventions and a careful management of materials and proportions, the project achieves a balance between respecting the existing building and accommodating a new functional program.

Spatial Organization & Materials

The interior environment is organized around the idea of domestic comfort, creating spaces that convey calmness and trust to visitors. The spatial atmosphere draws inspiration from refined modernism and the aesthetics of mid-century design, with materials and objects acting as key carriers of the overall ambiance.

Oak wall paneling, velvet armchairs and carefully selected lighting fixtures compose a palette of materials and textures that expresses understated luxury. The composition remains strictly minimal, allowing the materials to stand out through their texture and natural presence without unnecessary formal gestures. Each object is carefully placed within the space, contributing to a coherent spatial experience defined by clean lines and balanced aesthetics.

Lighting Design

The scenography of the interior unfolds through subtle shifts of light, textures and visual focal points that guide the visitor’s movement through the space. Lighting operates as a primary tool for shaping the atmosphere.

The lighting design enhances the sense of privacy and comfort while simultaneously highlighting architectural surfaces and interior details. Through discreet lighting interventions, a balance is achieved between functionality and spatial experience.

The final spatial composition is complemented by selected artworks that are integrated into the architectural narrative of the project.

Horizontal form

Located in Agios Tychonas, Cyprus, this private residence is conceived as a clear architectural composition of horizontal and vertical volumes that respond to the natural slope of the site. The building rests on an exposed concrete structural frame that establishes a solid base, while the white-rendered upper level introduces a sense of visual lightness. Continuous south-facing glazing and wooden louvers reinforce the relationship between interior space and landscape, creating transparency and warmth. The overall composition emphasizes horizontality, directing views toward the horizon and the infinity pool, which operates as a spatial extension of the interior living areas. The project’s architectural identity balances the raw texture of concrete with warm wooden surfaces and glass, establishing a contemporary dialogue with the surrounding natural environment.

Spatial Organization

The functional layout is structured around an open-plan ground floor where living, dining and kitchen spaces unfold seamlessly toward the outdoor terrace and swimming pool. This arrangement strengthens the connection between interior and exterior while extending everyday living into the garden.

The upper level accommodates the private areas of the house. Bedrooms and bathrooms are organized along a linear circulation corridor and are complemented by perimeter balconies that enhance privacy while encouraging cross-ventilation. The clarity of the plan establishes strong visual axes that guide the gaze toward the surrounding landscape, while allowing flexibility of use and a comfortable everyday spatial experience.

Bioclimatic Strategy

Environmental considerations are integrated into the project from the earliest stages of design. The building’s orientation and form respond directly to the climatic characteristics of the site, enabling passive regulation of temperature and daylight.

Carefully positioned overhangs and cantilevered elements, combined with adjustable wooden louvers, mitigate solar exposure during the summer months while allowing the lower winter sun to penetrate the interior spaces. Large openings facilitate natural cross-ventilation and passive cooling, while the exposed concrete structure operates as thermal mass, storing and gradually releasing heat to maintain stable indoor conditions.

Materials & Landscape Design

The architectural expression of the residence emerges from the dialogue between its material palette and the surrounding landscape. Concrete, wood, glass and white render are employed with restraint, establishing a balanced composition that reflects both modernist clarity and sensitivity to place.

Strategic planting around the perimeter contributes to the improvement of the microclimate, while the presence of the pool and landscaped surfaces enhances evaporative cooling. The overall form of the building adapts to the topography of the site, minimizing environmental impact while shaping a calm and open living environment.

Through this approach, the residence functions as a contemporary retreat where interior and exterior spaces merge seamlessly. Each volume, opening and material choice contributes to a spatial experience that prioritizes sustainability, clarity and a strong relationship with the natural landscape.

Reflection of the City

The new National Gallery building, now incorporating a major expansion and museological upgrade of its exhibition spaces, constitutes an important landmark in the contemporary urban landscape of Athens: to the pre-existing building of 9,720 m², which is listed as a modern monument, an additional 11,040 m² was added, more than doubling the functional spaces to a total of 20,760 m².

Design Philosophy

Through the new proposal, additions were implemented between the two units of the historic building (“Building A” facing Vasilissis Sofias Avenue and “Building B” facing Michalakopoulou Street), at the point where they are connected by a bridge above the location of the Ilissos riverbed, while underground spaces (“Building C”) were also opened where the groundwater level permits. The interior of the complex was completely redesigned.

The new building volumes, characterized by large glass surfaces, clearly stand apart from the architecture of the preserved building, with its exposed reinforced concrete structure and white marble infill elements. On the Michalakopoulou Street side, the new National Gallery gained an additional floor, while in the void between the two old wings an additional depth of three levels was added.

In the garden created south of the historic main entrance, the Gallery acquires an independent entrance, while the configuration of the surrounding landscape recalls the presence of the Ilissos river, through the creation of a water channel and the extension of greenery. The museum also features visitor circulation ramps with views toward the city skyline, elevators and staircases, full accessibility for people with disabilities, and modern security systems.

Spatial Organization

The entrance to the building complex takes place through a multifunctional space of 910 m², where in addition to control, information and visitor services, multiple digital information systems provide access to content about the building, the collections and the activities of the Gallery.

The main Gallery shop is also located there, equipped with versatile display cases. From the reception area visitors can move either towards the exhibition spaces of the permanent collections or towards the temporary exhibition areas, as well as to the 350-seat amphitheater or the café.

The interior architecture and the museographic study shaped the spaces accessible along the visitor routes. The museological core of the National Gallery consists of the permanent exhibition halls on the first and second floors of Building B, where the permanent collection of Greek painting and printmaking of the 19th and 20th centuries is presented, the permanent exhibition hall on the second basement level of Building C, where the permanent collection of Western European painting and printmaking is displayed, as well as the halls for rotating exhibitions on the third floor of Building B, where the continuously expanding collections of Contemporary Art (20th and 21st centuries) are presented through a rotating program.

In the permanent exhibition halls, spatial organization is mainly achieved through the placement of fixed exhibition panels that extend across the full height of the space, contributing to the narrative continuity of the exhibits. Through the use of these panels, the path of the gaze is designed through the revelation and concealment of spatial depth, while directions and visual perspectives are created, encouraging multiple associations and readings of the exhibits and forming central configurations as thematic focal points.

Museography and Exhibition Strategy

In these halls, suspended ceilings with general and accent lighting have been installed, incorporating a translucent elastic sound-absorbing membrane, while the exhibition walls and panels with a final fiber gypsum board surface allow for the hanging of artworks.

The exhibition panels are supported by the floor and the structure of the translucent ceiling, allowing cable routing inside them from the ceiling wiring system. Similarly, cable routes along the perimeter walls are placed at their upper termination. The exhibition space, beyond the exhibition surfaces, is equipped with display cases that enrich the exhibited material with drawings, watercolors and prints, while the artwork security systems allow the identification of each work individually and the immediate monitoring of any change in its condition.

In the halls for rotating exhibitions, in order to address special requirements, a suspended ceiling system was implemented that ensures uniform general lighting, isotropic distribution of accent lighting for the exhibits, as well as the possibility of supporting exhibition panels and hanging exhibits or projection systems. In addition to the permanent collection exhibition halls, the second basement of Building C hosts the temporary exhibition hall, where the suspended ceiling–lighting–display system used in the rotating exhibitions of the permanent collection has been extended in order to provide a suitable supporting background.

At the junctions between exhibition halls and the horizontal and vertical circulation areas of the building, circulation, signage and information nodes are defined and marked by wood cladding on the walls and ceilings. The visitor route is structured as a sequence of exhibition halls and circulation nodes where visitors can orient themselves and redesign their route, obtain digital information about the content of each exhibition hall and view additional exhibition material related to the content of the halls in specially designed display cases.

Overall, the extensions and reconstructions include new exhibition spaces of 2,230 m², modern art storage facilities of 1,645 m² and a space dedicated to educational programs. The new museum is equipped with state-of-the-art conservation laboratories, administrative offices, as well as a library that develops across two floors. It also includes two café-restaurants, with the second, located on the top level of the building, offering panoramic views toward the Acropolis, Mount Lycabettus and the Saronic Gulf.

In the new building, 1,000 works can be displayed as part of the permanent collection, whereas previously the old building could accommodate no more than 400 works. The new temporary exhibition hall approaches 2,000 m², while the storage spaces can house up to 10,000 artworks.

Corrugated form

The proposal concerns the reconstruction of a seven-storey office building on Syngrou Avenue and seeks to assign a central role to the building’s architectural identity, shaping the surrounding urban and cultural landscape while serving as the primary means of presenting the building as a contemporary landmark within the city.

Design Philosophy

Through an analysis of the building’s relationship with its wider urban context, the design proposes the relocation of the main axis of movement onto the façade facing Syngrou Avenue. This gesture became the geometric foundation for the development of the new architectural expression of the building envelope.

Drawing on the experience of movement along the urban axis, a system reminiscent of chronophotography was conceived – an image that condenses the perception of sequential motion into a single, legible form. In this way, movement is translated into architectural language, granting the building a dynamic and recognizable presence within the urban fabric.

The composition is articulated through a system of vertical elements consisting of sixty-four custom-made, wave-shaped louvers, each with a unique geometric development. Their repetition and variation generate a rhythmic surface that changes according to the observer’s viewpoint and the trajectory of natural light.

Sustainable Design

A central objective of the project was the integration of sustainable design principles. The building was designed and constructed with the aim of achieving LEED Gold certification, incorporating strategies that enhance both energy efficiency and environmental performance.

Within this framework, a specialized parametric study was carried out for the façade louver system to ensure optimal penetration of natural light into the interior spaces while simultaneously providing thermal and visual comfort. The dynamic form of the façade therefore operates not only as an aesthetic feature but also as an active filtering system for daylight and shading, contributing to the regulation of the microclimate and the overall environmental performance of the building.

Façade Lighting Design

The sense of movement created by the wave-like louvers is intensified by the interplay of light and shadow throughout the day. Continuous variations in illumination transform the appearance of the façade, giving it a shifting character that responds to the movement of the sun.

During the evening hours, the building’s architectural identity is further emphasized through a permanent lighting installation designed specifically for each point, angle and element of the façade. A carefully calibrated sequence of subtle variations in white light runs along the building envelope, establishing a quiet dialogue with the city’s nocturnal landscape.

Particular emphasis was placed on minimizing light pollution. The lighting fixtures are controlled through specialized systems that allow them to operate at very low luminance levels, thereby protecting the surrounding urban environment.

At roof level, a recreational terrace with views towards the Acropolis is created, framed by planting. This space offers a moment of release for the building’s users, introducing an element of greenery and relaxation within the dense urban fabric of central Athens.

Kerakoll acquires strategically significant industrial property in Schimatari for the development of a new production hub for Southeast Europe

Kerakoll Group, an international leader in sustainable building and a certified B Corp company, is strengthening its presence in Greece through the acquisition of an industrial and logistics facility in the Schimatari area.

With a total surface area of 12,500 sq.m. and 4,300 sq.m. of built facilities, the new property will be transformed into a modern production unit and will serve as the core of an integrated Kerakoll industrial hub for Southeast Europe.

The investment forms part of the Group’s long-term strategy to develop advanced industrial, research, and supply chain infrastructures in Greece. Following its full upgrade, the facility will support new product lines, increase production capacity, and optimize logistics operations, improving delivery times, operational flexibility, and overall business continuity.

The new hub will further strengthen the role of Kerakoll Hellas as a strategic partner for construction companies, industry professionals, and technically demanding projects. At the same time, it will create high-quality local employment opportunities and contribute to the development of technical expertise in the region. Sustainability remains a core priority, with interventions focused on energy efficiency, smart resource management, and practices aimed at reducing environmental impact, fully aligned with the Group’s B Corp commitment to generating positive impact for communities, society, and the environment.

“This strategic move reinforces the future growth of Kerakoll Hellas and confirms Greece’s role as a hub for Southeast Europe. Guided by our purpose — ‘to bring together people with passion and creativity to build better places to live’ — we continue to invest, creating long-term value for society, the economy, and the environment,” stated Zisis Koulaxidis, Regional Director South East Europe.

The 7th event in ek magazine’s Material Matters architecture series will take place on 16 June 2026 at the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron Mousikis Athinon), Banquet Hall.

Material Matters explores the importance of both contemporary and traditional materials -and their architectural applications- through the theoretical perspectives and built work of Greek architects. Starting from each material’s history and its constructional or expressive qualities, the presentations focus on how it can be reinterpreted in today’s context, shaped by ongoing economic and technological change.

Material Matters Vol. 7 is dedicated to a family of materials and applications encountered at the very first level of a building’s “reading”: the facade. This year’s edition focuses specifically on building envelopes where metal and glass are the dominant construction materials. As the threshold between interior organisation and the external environment, the façade operates within complex relationships—of meaning and symbolism, but also of engineering performance. In addressing functional demands while enhancing the presence and identity of a building, it often gains a degree of autonomy as a distinct design object in its own right.

A line-up of ten speakers from the fields of architecture and design will discuss the role of the façade in architecture -through their own work as well as selected projects by other architects -in a series of engaging 10-minute presentations.

Speakers:

– Nikolaos Siapkaras & Anna Assana | A&S Architects
– Mathilda Beraha | ARID
– Lukas Bobotis | Bobotis + Bobotis Architects
– Demetra Katsota | Buerger Katsota Architects
– Nikolas Travasaros | Divercity Architects
– Anargyros Mougiakos | ISV
– Natassa Lianou & Ermis Chalvatzis | LC Architects
– Ivy Nanopoulou & Eri Nikoloudi | Thymio Papayannis & Associates
– Eraclis Papachristou | Eraclis Papachristou Architects

Keynote Speakers:

– Massimiliano Fuksas | Studio Fuksas

The event is under the auspices of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, the Hellenic-Italian Chamber of Commerce of Thessaloniki and the Hellenic-Italian Chamber of Commerce of Athens.

Platinum Sponsor: Elval Colour

Gold Sponsor: F|Nous

Silver Sponsor: VOUTSADAKIS S.A.

Stage Design Sponsor: Rouchotas

Cocktail Event Sponsor: DIPO – INTERWOOD

Sponsors: AkzoNobel, Alumil, ETEM, Europa, ilicon, MIPECO, Vitex

Supporters: Domiki Papanikolaou, Koligas Wood, Saint-Gobain Glass,  TEXTURE AND TILES

Hospitality Sponsor: Electra Rhythm Athens, INNATHENS

The Pritzker Architecture Prize announces Smiljan Radić Clarke, of Santiago, Chile, as the 2026 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the award that is regarded internationally as architecture’s highest distinction.

“Architecture exists between large, massive, and enduring forms—structures that stand under the sun for centuries, waiting for our visit—and smaller, fragile constructions—fleeting as the life of a fly, often without a clear destiny under conventional light. Within this tension of disparate times, we strive to create experiences that carry emotional presence, encouraging people to pause and reconsider a world that so often passes them by with indifference,” expresses Radić.

Radić refuses a repeatable architectural language; instead, each project is approached as a singular inquiry, grounded in first principles and informed by noncontinuous history. Context, use and anthropological awareness take precedence. Site is understood not only in physical terms, but also as a convergence of history, social practice, and political circumstance.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, photo courtesy of Iwan Baan

The 2026 Jury Citation states, in part, “Through a body of work positioned at the crossroads of uncertainty, material experimentation, and cultural memory, Smiljan Radić favours fragility over any unwarranted claim to certainty. His buildings appear temporary, unstable, or deliberately unfinished—almost on the point of disappearance—yet they provide a structured, optimistic and quietly joyful shelter, embracing vulnerability as an intrinsic condition of lived experience.”

Across his work, site-specific strategies recur in varied forms, allowing each building to emerge from its particular conditions rather than a signature formula.Buildings may be partially embedded in the ground rather than placed upon it as at Restaurant Mestizo (Santiago, Chile 2006), oriented to shelter from prevailing winds or harsh light such as in Pite House (Papudo, Chile, 2005), or shaped through adaptive reuse rather than replacement as with Chile Antes de Chile, the extension of the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art (Santiago, Chile, 2013).

“In every work, he is able to answer with radical originality, making the unobvious obvious. He reverts back to the most irreducible basic foundations of architecture, exploring at the same time, limits that have not yet been touched. Developed in a context of unforgiving circumstances, from the edge of the world, with a practice of just a few collaborators, he is capable of bringing us to the innermost core of the built environment and the human condition,” comments Alejandro Aravena, Chair of the Jury and 2016 Pritzker Prize Laureate.

Pite House, photo courtesy of Cristobal Palma

Radić’s architecture reveals its rigor not through formal assertion, but through the discipline of its construction. His work often appears austere or elemental, yet this impression conceals precise engineering and construction. Materials such as concrete, stone, timber, and glass are deployed in deliberate relation to one another to shape weight, light, sound, and enclosure. At the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (London, United Kingdom, 2014), a translucent fiberglass shell rests on immense load-bearing, locally-sourced stones. Light is filtered rather than displayed and enclosure remains partial, allowing visitors to experience shelter without complete separation from the surrounding park. At Teatro Regional del Bío-Bío (Concepción, Chile, 2018), a carefully engineered semi-translucent envelope modulates light and supports acoustic performance through restraint.Construction becomes a kind of storytelling, where texture and mass carry as much meaning as form.

As the Jury Citation further notes, “To render the qualities of his architectural work in spoken language is intrinsically difficult, for in his designs he works with dimensions of experience that are immediately palpable but escape verbalization—like the perception of time itself: immediately recognizable, yet conceptually evasive. His buildings are not conceived simply as visual artifacts; rather, they demand embodied presence.”

His works are marked by a quiet emotional intelligence, informed by empathy for the human experience and calibrated to shape how architecture is felt over time. His buildings feel protective, inwardly focused, and attentive to human fragility. House for the Poem of the Right Angle (Vilches, Chile, 2013) signifies contemplative retreat, with thoughtfully placed openings, oriented upward to capture light and time, encouraging stillness and introspection.

At his home studio, Pequeño Edificio Burgués (Santiago, Chile, 2023), the residence provides shelter and privacy while maintaining an expansive relationship to the city below. From within, residents overlook urban landscape below, while from the outside, the interior remains concealed behind chain-link curtains. Single-pane glass walls invite rain, sound, and shifting light into the space, allowing daily weather to be felt as much as seen. Below, the subterranean studio occupies a quieter register, as the same walls are tempered by an earthen berm that filters sunlight, brings nature into view, and creates a protected environment for work.

Teatro Regional del Bío-Bío, photo courtesy of Iwan Baan

Interventions are neither restoration nor replacement, rather intentional calculations of scale and use. At NAVE (Santiago, Chile, 2015), Radić reframes an early-twentieth-century residential heritage building damaged by natural disaster, retaining the existing structure while inserting new volumes dedicated to open-ended performance, rehearsal, and workshop spaces. Above, a rooftop terrace capped by a circus tent introduces an unexpected lightness and an atmosphere of provisional celebration programmed with community events, that contrasts with the grounded intimacy below. Previous layers remain visible, treating adaptation as continuity rather than compromise.

This attentiveness to layers extends beyond construction. In 2017, Radić established Fundación de Arquitectura Frágil in Santiago, conceived as both a platform for public exchange and a working archive. The foundation’s collection, comprised of experimental works, studies, and references from other architects, forms a body of inquiry that often informs his own projects. The work of others becomes another layer through which architecture continues to evolve.

Developed over more than three decades, Radić’s practice spans cultural institutions, civic spaces, commercial buildings, private residences, and installations throughout Albania, Austria, Chile, Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, with additional defining works including Guatero, for the XXII Chilean Architecture Biennial (Santiago, Chile, 2023); London Sky Bubble (London, United Kingdom, 2021); Chanchera House (Puerto Octay, Chile, 2022); Prism House (Conguillío, Chile, 2020); Vik Millahue Winery (Millahue, Chile, 2013); The Boy Hidden in a Fish, with Marcela Correa, for the 12th International Architecture Biennale of Venice (Venice, Italy, 2010); and CR House (Santiago, Chile, 2003).

Smiljan Radić Clarke is the 55th Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the founder of the practice, Smiljan Radić Clarke, established in 1995. Born in Santiago, Chile, he resides and works in his native city with upcoming projects in Albania, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

All images are copyright of the respective photographers and artists cited, and courtesy of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

New connections

Eleftheria Square lies adjacent to the Venetian walls and the dry moat that surrounds Nicosia. These distinctive defensive fortifications, originally built during the Middle Ages and extensively restored by the Venetians in the 16th century, define the historic core of the capital, separating the old city from the newer districts that developed beyond the walls.

Urban Design Strategy

The transformation of the square into the city’s primary gathering space is based on the creation of new connections intended to contribute to the reunification of the divided capital. The design secures unobstructed views toward the historic walls, establishing them as an integral component of Nicosia’s identity, while simultaneously opening the moat to public uses, allowing it to host festivals and outdoor events.

The project elevates the level of the moat to form a bridge that connects organically with the surrounding urban fabric, creating a new civic square at the heart of the city. Within this framework, extensive archaeological excavations were carried out, alongside conservation and protection works for the historic Venetian fortifications. The project also includes the creation of two cafés within the square and the construction of a new underground parking facility, accessed from Omirou Avenue.

Elements of Circulation

Staircases and elevators directly link the square with the Solomos Square bus terminal, reinforcing the functionality and permeability of the area. The transformation of previously inaccessible areas within the moat into plazas, gardens, and palm-lined pedestrian paths establishes a new “green belt” around the city.

This belt has the potential to extend along the historic fortifications, forming a continuous network of public spaces that encircle Nicosia and reconnect the communities of the divided capital. In this way, the square acts as a catalyst for the activation of public space, offering new opportunities for social interaction and urban life.

Materiality & Lighting Design

Within the broader vision of transforming the moat into an urban park, the project’s fluid geometries emerge from the triangulation of the irregular forms of the fortification perimeter. Points of spatial intensity are transformed into seating areas, planting beds, or water elements, shaping a dynamic urban landscape. Granite paving introduces a sense of timeless solidity, while the open joints between the slabs function as a passive system for stormwater drainage. Newly planted trees contribute to the natural regulation of water levels, reducing erosion around the foundations of the medieval walls.

The upper-level bridge and its supports are constructed from sculptural concrete forms that ensure seismic stability, while the bases of the columns are shaped to function as integrated seating elements. Through this transformation, Eleftheria Square emerges as the largest urban public space in Nicosia. By bridging the Venetian walls and the moat, the square becomes a significant gateway to the old city, while the underground parking facility removes vehicular traffic from the historic center, facilitating its future pedestrianization. In this way, the project enriches the urban landscape of this historic district while simultaneously creating new public gardens and gathering spaces for residents and visitors alike.

Finally, the lighting design reinforces the square’s fluid geometry and acts as a spatial guidance system during the evening hours. Linear lighting elements are discreetly integrated along the contours of the curved surfaces and bridges, emphasizing the dynamic morphology of the composition and enhancing the legibility of the structure within the urban landscape. At the same time, low-intensity lighting fixtures embedded within the paving create a subtle “field of light” that follows the geometry of the circulation paths and areas of pause. This approach highlights the plasticity of the concrete surfaces, enhances the sense of safety, and transforms the public space into a nocturnal landscape where light operates both functionally and atmospherically.

Domestic landscape

The redesign of this compact urban apartment emerged through close and meaningful collaboration with its users, aiming to create an environment that responds to contemporary needs for living, working, and everyday flexibility. The project is grounded in the idea that spatial quality is not determined by size, but by clarity of organization, the flow of natural light, and the conscious integration of functions.

Spatial Organization

The original layout was reconsidered through a process of spatial reprogramming, with the primary strategy focusing on the creation of a unified open-plan environment. The selective removal of walls allowed new visual connections and spatial relationships to emerge, enhancing both the penetration of natural light and the continuity of movement throughout the apartment.

A key element of the composition is the custom-designed opening between the entrance and the dining area. This architectural gesture functions simultaneously as a light filter, a transitional threshold, and a spatial organizer, introducing clarity to the spatial sequence while reinforcing the perception of depth within the interior.

Material Palette

The material identity of the project is defined through a restrained yet expressive palette of natural materials. Wood and marble are combined in specially designed built-in constructions that accommodate storage, work surfaces, and everyday functions.

Furniture is approached as an architectural component rather than as independent objects. In this way, it becomes organically integrated into the spatial composition, reinforcing the sense of coherence and visual clarity within the interior. These integrated solutions enable the efficient use of space without visually overwhelming the environment.

Custom Elements

Particular emphasis was placed on flexibility and multifunctionality. Office furniture, storage units, and adaptable surfaces are carefully integrated so that the space can easily transform to accommodate different scenarios of use – from working from home to everyday living and social gatherings.

The final result is a bright and balanced domestic environment, where the clarity of the design, the consistency of the material palette, and the careful detailing transform a small apartment into a flexible and contemporary living landscape. Through targeted architectural interventions, the project demonstrates how compact living can be reimagined as a refined and cohesive spatial experience.

Layered continuity

Located in the heart of Jingdezhen’s Imperial Kiln Historic District, the regeneration of a former porcelain factory complex proposes a contemporary strategy for historic preservation through what the architects describe as a “Plugin Architecture” approach. Rather than replacing the existing structures, the intervention introduces new architectural insertions within and around the historic fabric, revitalizing the site while maintaining its cultural and spatial continuity. Jingdezhen – renowned as China’s “Porcelain Capital” – has been associated with porcelain production for more than a millennium, making the careful integration of new architectural elements within this context particularly significant.

Design Philosophy

The core concept of the project is based on a system of architectural “plugins”— new spatial modules inserted into existing buildings to enhance functionality while preserving their historic character. These contemporary interventions upgrade the aging workshops and support structures to accommodate new programs such as offices, meeting rooms and guest accommodations.

Rather than imitating historical forms, the inserted modules are intentionally expressed as modern architectural elements. Their clear visual distinction establishes a dialogue between old and new, reinforcing the layered history of the site while enabling the complex to function as a contemporary cultural destination. Circulation elements such as staircases and walkways are introduced both inside and outside the structures, improving connectivity and enabling the adaptive reuse of previously fragmented spaces.

Glass Pavilion & Lighting

At the center of the site stands a three-story glass pavilion that functions as a new architectural landmark within the historic district. Designed as a transparent volume topped with a traditional double-pitched roof clad in clay tiles, the structure houses exhibition spaces and a café while acting as a focal point for the main public square.

The contrast between the transparent glass enclosure and the surrounding masonry buildings establishes a clear architectural dialogue between contemporary design and historic context. The roof appears to float above the glazed structure, reinforcing the sense of openness and creating a spatial extension of the public square into the building interior. From a distance, the pitched roof emerges among the surrounding tiled rooftops, subtly referencing the traditional architectural language of Jingdezhen.

Carefully integrated lighting design plays a crucial role in reinforcing the pavilion’s architectural presence, particularly after sunset. Warm recessed luminaires embedded within the timber soffit of the roof evenly illuminate the glass envelope, transforming the pavilion into a softly glowing lantern within the historic courtyard. Inside, discreet linear and point lighting accentuate the brick core and the vivid orange circulation elements, highlighting the layered spatial composition while maintaining a restrained and atmospheric ambiance. The transparency of the façade allows interior light to spill into the surrounding public square, strengthening the visual connection between interior activity and the historic urban fabric.

Materials & Urban Circulation

The project reinforces the relationship between interior and exterior space through the careful treatment of the courtyard landscape. Brick paving extends from the public square directly into the interior of the glass building, dissolving the boundary between inside and outside.

Within the courtyard, the paving transforms into stepped surfaces that accommodate changes in elevation while simultaneously functioning as informal seating areas. On the opposite side of the square, a series of barrel-vaulted brick rooms form the building’s base, anchoring the new structure within the historical material language of the site.

To improve accessibility and spatial continuity across the complex, one of the existing buildings was rotated, merging two separate courtyards into a single shared public space. This reconfiguration allows visitors to move fluidly between the public square, the glass pavilion and the surrounding workshops, effectively transforming the former industrial compound into a cohesive cultural environment.

Located adjacent to Chimney Square, the project sits within a dense historical landscape that includes the Imperial Kiln Museum and the archaeological remains of the Imperial Porcelain Factory to the west, while the historic Xu Family Kiln – the oldest and most complete preserved wood-fired kiln site in Jingdezhen – lies to the north. Within this historically layered setting, the project establishes a careful balance between preservation and contemporary intervention, transforming the former industrial site into a vibrant public destination that celebrates both the legacy and the future of porcelain culture.

Unified narrative

Located within Asia Pacific’s tallest tower, Merdeka 118, the newly opened Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur introduces the first Park Hyatt hotel in Malaysia. The project forms a spatial narrative that merges contemporary luxury with references to the traditional Malay kampung house. Through a carefully articulated lighting strategy, the interiors highlight texture, colour and materiality while framing expansive panoramic views of Kuala Lumpur’s skyline.

Spatial Organization

From the moment guests arrive on the lobby ground mezzanine, the spatial experience is shaped by a sequence of warm, timber-clad surfaces illuminated through discreet recessed uplighting. Backlit panels silhouette a series of pivoting screens, introducing a subtle theatricality that establishes the atmosphere of the hotel.

The main public spaces are situated on Level 75 and include the Lobby, Merdeka Grill, Park Lounge and Cacao Mixology & Chocolate Bar. Within these double-height interiors, accent lighting highlights key architectural features such as perforated brass screens engraved with intricate batik canting patterns. Bespoke ceiling pendants anchor each space and reinforce the rhythm of the interior composition.

Materials & Furnishings

Throughout the hotel, lighting functions as a primary design instrument, emphasizing the tactile qualities of materials and enhancing the layered interior palette. Brass, timber and textured surfaces are revealed through carefully controlled illumination that produces depth and warmth.

The hotel’s 252 guestrooms and suites are conceived as intimate spaces framing the surrounding cityscape. Lighting is carefully integrated within joinery elements to maintain visual clarity and avoid clutter. Discreet downlights illuminate artwork and architectural surfaces, while decorative fixtures inspired by woven fabrics introduce a softer, residential warmth to the interiors.

Lighting Strategy

The lighting strategy also strengthens the spatial hierarchy of the public areas. Feature lighting directs attention to architectural focal points, while softer ambient layers ensure visual comfort and reinforce the calm, refined character associated with the Park Hyatt brand.

On Level 99, the Wellness Floor transitions from the openness of daylight-filled spaces to a tranquil and immersive retreat. A sequence of softly illuminated arches references the traditional Malaysian five-foot ways, guiding guests through the spa environment while generating a calm and contemplative atmosphere that evolves throughout the day.

Together, the lighting and interior architecture establish a cohesive environment in which every element contributes to the guest experience. The result is a luminous architectural composition – one that transforms materials, spatial sequences, and panoramic views into a unified narrative reflecting the cultural spirit and contemporary identity of Malaysia.

Client: PNB Merdeka Ventures
Operator: Hyatt
Project Managers: Turner International
Art Consultants:  ArtLink
General Contractor:  Samsung C&T Corporation UEM Construction JV Sdn Bhd (SUJV)

Incisions are few, and precise: one opening at the kitchen looks downwards; one light well at the end of the corridor accentuates a sculpture in space, and marks arrival. At the entrance prism, a vertical aperture is juxtaposed to the incision of the kitchen; as a result, each afternoon, a strip of light crosses through. Those elements are brought into a marked contrast with the other two faces of the volume, where the wall is expressed as absence. The shading device is also a mechanism, a filter in an environmental approach. The ample height of the spaces alludes to vernacular architecture, where the large air volume stabilizes interior temperature. The thermal mass of the walls adds to this effect. The tectonic shell of the project wraps this interior in an austere line, without any superficial gestures.

04. Ilios Beach Club and Nalu Surf Club | Elastic Architects

ek Issue: 304 | January – February 2026

Lighting Design: Archtube

Natural lighting and cross ventilation are maximized, strengthening the connection between the space and the elements of wind and sun – essential aspects of the surfing experience. At the same time, a multilayered artificial lighting scheme highlights the curves and geometries of the architecture, emphasizing the spatial composition during nighttime hours. The material palette reinforces this sense of flow and continuity. Travertine, oak timber, teak and iroko, ribbed glass, sculptural details and finishes made from natural fibers create a warm and tactile environment. Through Ilios and Nalu, a unified architectural ensemble emerges, balancing flow and stillness. The result is a multisensory hospitality experience rooted in rhythm, equilibrium and the authenticity of surf culture.

05. Saint Hotel | Kapsimalis Architects

ek Issue: 248 | June 2020

Lighting Design: HALO Architectural Lighting

The lighting of the complex operates in a discreet manner, enhancing the sculptural quality of the white volumes and the experience of movement through the landscape. Along the outdoor pathways and staircases, low-intensity linear luminaires are integrated into the architecture, emphasizing the geometry of the walls and guiding visitors during nighttime circulation. The illuminated pools act as diffused luminous surfaces within the composition, creating soft reflections across the cave volumes. Inside the rooms, lighting remains subtle and integrated into the curved surfaces, highlighting the minimalist aesthetic and the sculptural qualities of Cycladic architecture.

In mid-July, the new architectural lighting installation for the Hellenic Parliament Building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was completed, accompanied by the energy upgrade of the underground parking areas and the complex’s nursery facility. The new lighting design seeks to redefine the nocturnal presence of the building and its surrounding space, situating the intervention within a contemporary framework of environmental responsibility and sustainability. The new lighting scheme was implemented exclusively using advanced LED technology, with particular emphasis on chromatic consistency and precise control of the light sources. Each luminaire is digitally controlled in terms of both intensity and operating duration, allowing the creation of dynamic lighting scenarios with a high degree of accuracy.

The artificial lighting scheme emphasizes clarity, orientation, and the public presence of the building within the city. Linear and recessed luminaires are carefully integrated into ceilings, circulation areas, and architectural elements, providing even illumination while preserving the clean architectural lines of the spaces. Externally, subtle façade lighting and the glow from the interior transform the town hall into a luminous urban landmark, reinforcing its role as an open and accessible civic institution within the historic center of Nicosia.

The sense of movement created by the wave-like louvers is intensified by the interplay of light and shadow throughout the day. Continuous variations in illumination transform the appearance of the façade, giving it a shifting character that responds to the movement of the sun. During the evening hours, the building’s architectural identity is further emphasized through a permanent lighting installation designed specifically for each point, angle and element of the façade. A carefully calibrated sequence of subtle variations in white light runs along the building envelope, establishing a quiet dialogue with the city’s nocturnal landscape. Particular emphasis was placed on minimizing light pollution. The lighting fixtures are controlled through specialized systems that allow them to operate at very low luminance levels, thereby protecting the surrounding urban environment.

The lighting design of the office building is conceived as an integral component of the architectural strategy, supporting both the workplace environment and the building’s contemporary identity within the urban fabric. Specifically, artificial lighting follows a restrained and highly integrated system of linear and recessed luminaires that emphasize clarity and spatial continuity. Even, glare-free illumination supports focused work while maintaining a calm and balanced atmosphere throughout the office interiors and shared spaces. At night, subtle exterior lighting accentuates the geometry of the façades and the transparency of the glazed surfaces, allowing the building to appear as a softly illuminated volume that contributes to the contemporary character of the business district.

Global connections, new curatorial territories and an unprecedented openness to Contract. Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026 sets the coordinates for the project’s near future.

The countdown to the 64th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, the most important international furniture and design industry event, from 21^st to 26th April, at Fiera Milano Rho, is on: more than 1,900 exhibitors (36.6% from abroad) and over 169,000 square metres of net exhibition space completely sold out. At the centre of it all is the eagerly awaited return of the biennial exhibitions: EuroCucina with FTK – Technology For the Kitchen, and the International Bathroom Exhibition.

Completing the picture is SaloneSatellite with 700 designers under 35 and 23 international schools and universities. These figures confirm that the Salone is not only the most important international furniture and design fair, but also an active and evolving cultural infrastructure: a relational and strategic driver that fuels global connections, disseminates shared visions and consolidates Milan’s role as the capital of contemporary design.

The common thread running through the 2026 edition will be an increasingly integrated architecture of content and exhibition itineraries. The Salone is also embarking on a new venture, which will lead to the debut of Salone Contract in 2027 — the Masterplan has been entrusted to Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten (OMA). From the interpretation of contexts to the visitor experience, integrated supplies and the strengthening of B2B networking.

Debuting also Salone Raritas. Curated icons, unique objects, and outsider pieces: 25 exhibitors will create a new platform, a bridge between special production and the design market, curated by Annalisa Rosso, Editorial Director and Cultural Events Advisor of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, with exhibition design by Formafantasma.

A Luxury Way will feature Aurea, an Architectural Fiction, an immersive installation designed by Maison Numéro 20: an imaginary hotel that transforms interior design into narration and scenography, leveraging the emotional and sensory dimensions of living. Bringing this narrative together and amplifying it, the communication campaign A Matter of Salone is a collective project that puts matter back at the centre as the origin and meaning of design, translating the transition from gesture to form and meaning into images, and a reworked visitor experience: a clearer and more intuitive wayfinding system will help visitors find their way around the fair more easily, fostering discoveries and encounters and making the complexity of the event easier to understand.

Learn more here.

Cover Image: Entries_Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025_©Diego Ravier

01: Salone-Raritas_Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026_Visual_©Formafantasma

02: Aurea_Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026_illustration_MN20

03: Communication Campaign_A Matter of Salone_Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026_©Motel409

Industrial Aesthetic

In the center of the city of Volos, a specialty coffee shop with a strong urban character is introduced to the public through its clearly defined design identity. The core concept focuses on the creation of a minimal and fresh space, enriched with discreet industrial elements that convey energy and an intense morning atmosphere.

Spatial Organization

Within a compact area of 35m2, which includes spatial units such as the bar, preparation area, customer circulation zone, seating area, as well as auxiliary spaces for storage and WC, particular emphasis is placed on the formation of a functional and ergonomic layout.

Inside, the centrally positioned bar operates both as the main functional production element and as a point of daily social interaction. Behind it, compositions of metal shelving structures arranged in a grid highlight the interior height of the space, while suspended circular metal elements add an additional industrial character.

Façade Design

The extroverted character of the space is largely defined by the design approach of the façades. Slender white metal frames open the interior towards the urban environment, transforming the coffee preparation process into a daily urban experience. In addition, the handmade pine wood entrance doors introduce a distinctive sense of warmth and a gentle contrast to the predominantly white composition.

Materials, Lighting & Constructions

Both externally and internally, white surfaces dominate, while characteristic metal elements in a vivid yellow color introduce a pop-like quality. In between, the use of oak textures adds a sense of calmness and balance. The material palette is completed by the targeted use of white square tiles.

Special emphasis is placed on construction details. From the laser-cut entrance handles to the rounded planters and fluid decorative forms, all elements are the result of deliberate design, aiming to shape a unified and coherent identity.

Finally, artificial lighting plays a significant role, following a laboratory-inspired approach through the use of suspended linear lighting above the bar, as well as neon-type signage and light boxes, completing the urban character of the project.

Inhabited shadow

Located next to the Sotogrande golf course, this house was designed to dwell inside the shadow, in-between the ground plane and the flat roof that hovers above. This generous cantilever not only provides shelter from the intense sun of Cadiz but also offers protection against the heavy rainfall arriving from the nearby Grazalema mountain range, the region with the highest precipitation in the Iberian Peninsula.

Design Philosophy

The design establishes four distinct architectural boundaries that define the spatial experience of the house. Below, the ground plane receives the imprint of the shadow. Above, the roof slab is designed with a water surface, functioning both as an aesthetic and a bioclimatic element. Peripherally, a continuous floor-to-ceiling glass façade allows for efficient climate control within the interior while maintaining unobstructed views and seamless movement towards the landscape. Finally, the inner core features a wooden volume that ensures the necessary privacy for the rooms while introducing warmth throughout the space.

Functional Layout

Access to the house is from the upper street, a strategic point that offers a privileged view of the landscape and the water surface on the roof -an unexpected feature that provides thermal and acoustic insulation. The water layer absorbs heat during the day and gradually releases it at night, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling.

The roof and ground planes are subtly displaced to create a covered entrance leading to the main access, parallel to an infinity pool that extends towards the golf course. Internally, the program is organized around a central circulation core, which also incorporates skylights that bring natural light into the central spaces and guide movement towards the rooftop water surface.

Materials & Furniture

One of the primary design requirements was the use of materials that compose a warm color palette. As a result, the entire ground surface -both indoors and outdoors is clad in large-format off-white ceramic slabs, harmonizing with the wooden finishes of the core and the free-standing walls that define different interior areas. The furniture is dominated by natural wood and textured white fabrics, while linear warm white lighting highlights the overall composition.

Throughout the day, sunlight washes across textured surfaces and natural materials, accentuating depth and shadow while reinforcing the continuity between interior and exterior spaces. During the evening, a carefully composed artificial lighting scheme takes over through discreet, indirect fixtures integrated into ceilings, walls and architectural details. Warm, low-intensity lighting highlights key spatial elements and circulation paths while maintaining a soft ambient glow that preserves the serene character of the residence, allowing the architecture and material palette to remain the focal point of the spatial experience.

The design aims to minimize the building’s footprint on the environment, creating a living experience within the shaded zone defined between the two primary planes. Through a simple architectural gesture, the house orchestrates an experience with a strong identity and a timeless character.

Geometric elements

Built amidst fields of wheat, the house is defined by the geometric treatment of three natural elements: Earth, water, and light. The composition becomes a sequence of different impressions throughout the day, and the poetics of space creates a detachment from the environment, as a layout raised above the landscape.

Design Philosophy

At once, a home, and imagery: the former attribute is experienced practically, and the latter becomes the source of ideas. One layout and one clear line, diagonally traced upon a simple volume, define the building. It is an elongated volume of bare concrete, placed in-between the ground and the sky. Its elegant character is described in simple lines, uniting and dividing.

The floor-to-ceiling opening maintains proportions which allow an unobstructed sky view. The building volume is subtracted from the soil, creating a seamless flow of open air space beneath – a gesture further accentuated with the water axis, perpendicular to the building.

Façade Morphology

The shell is introverted, with only a few incisions on its surface, and the dominant bare concrete is complemented with a screen of perforated, folded bronze shades. Contact with the outside remains at the disposition of the inhabitant. Each idea requires a practical application. The living experience is entirely introverted, with the materiality of concrete enforcing this impression. The bold gesture at the entrance -an oversized prism which absorbs a disproportionate part of the whole- acts as a bridge to the interior, with its geometry and size underlining the distance between public and private.

Materials & Sustainability

Incisions are few, and precise: one opening at the kitchen looks downwards; one light well at the end of the corridor accentuates a sculpture in space, and marks arrival. At the entrance prism, a vertical aperture is juxtaposed to the incision of the kitchen; as a result, each afternoon, a strip of light crosses through. Those elements are brought into a marked contrast with the other two faces of the volume, where the wall is expressed as absence.

The shading device is also a mechanism, a filter in an environmental approach. The ample height of the spaces alludes to vernacular architecture, where the large air volume stabilizes interior temperature. The thermal mass of the walls adds to this effect. The tectonic shell of the project wraps this interior in an austere line, without any superficial gestures.

Ateno Architecture Studio was founded in Athens in 2018 by architects Giorgos Fiorentinos and Ilias Theodorakis. Its initial ambition was to create a collaborative platform centered on architectural composition—one that would encourage dialogue and experimentation around form and the spatial relationships of the built environment. Over time, the team broadened its scope, undertaking a wide range of private and public commissions. Envisioned as an entity that integrates research, design and construction into a unified creative process, the practice continues to evolve, looking to the future with optimism.

ek: One of your first projects involved the renovation of a damaged restaurant in Mati, Attica, conceived through a narrative approach in which memory played a central role. Have you addressed subsequent renovations in a similar way? What is the primary challenge when changing the use of a space?

ATENO: Intervening in an existing building is a process of reading and reinterpretation. Every structure carries a narrative embedded in its form, layout and traces of use. These elements suggest ways of inhabiting; they carry memories and stories that often shape the framework of our work.

The greatest challenge in a change of use lies in the fact that we are sometimes required to intervene in this narrative in an almost violent manner. Through our work, we strive to preserve living fragments of history while simultaneously creating a fresh substratum capable of accommodating the stories of future occupants.

The balance between old and new, the decision to preserve or radically transform a space’s character, the safeguarding of craft traditions that may have faded, alongside the integration of new materials and technologies, constitute for us an ongoing and creative exercise.

ek: Among your unrealized projects, the proposals for the Eleneio Public Kindergarten and the Arts Building of Athens College stand out. Although formally distinct, was there a shared approach between the two? In your view, how does architecture contribute to supporting a contemporary educational experience?

ATENO: We regard architectural competitions as opportunities for experimentation, extroversion and collaboration. Indeed, our office was founded on the occasion of a competition for Public Utility Facilities in Thessaloniki. The projects you mention were developed in collaboration with colleagues and friends—Dimitris Zampopoulos, Nestor Skantzouris (Arts Building) and Studio Spacecraft (Eleneio).

Each design endeavor was shaped by multiple parameters – the site, the life scenario, and the collective references of each design team – with a shared aspiration to create timeless learning environments that move and inspire. We believe architecture can enhance the educational experience both functionally and experientially. Proportions, geometries, visual perspectives, the interplay of light and shadow, colors and textures encountered in school environments as children form our first perception of the world; they become embedded in memory and return, consciously or not, throughout our lives.

ek: As your practice continues to grow, are there particular building types or categories of projects you hope to explore further?

ATENO: Undoubtedly, like the majority of architectural practices in Greece, we are primarily engaged in projects related to tourism, commerce and housing, within both new constructions and existing shells. Throughout our trajectory so far, we approach every commission with equal interest. Regardless of scale or typology, the distinct challenges accompanying each project stimulate us, expand our knowledge and strengthen the team’s creativity.

Ideally, we would like to engage with as many project categories as possible in the future, without focusing exclusively on a specific typology. At the same time, we observe a gap between private and public infrastructure – from sidewalks to hospitals, schools and administrative buildings. We recognize the urgent need for high-quality works of collective interest and would welcome the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to that direction.

Targeted interventions

Athena Residence is the renovation of a 1960s apartment in central Athens, conceived as a small-scale hospitality project within the dense urban fabric of Kolonaki.

Adaptive Reuse

Located in Kolonaki and completed in 2024, the project responds to the evolving reality of contemporary Athens, where domestic interiors are increasingly required to accommodate hybrid modes of inhabitation – daily life alongside short-term stays. Working within the constraints of an existing building and a tightly defined budget, the project adopts a strategy of light yet decisive intervention. Rather than pursuing formal transformation, the design prioritizes reuse, spatial clarity and long-term performance.

The original timber flooring was carefully retained and restored, grounding the apartment in its material past. New bespoke joinery elements in timber and brass organize the kitchen, storage and wardrobes as fixed architectural components rather than loose furnishings, reinforcing a sense of permanence and cohesion. Subtle reconfigurations of the layout enhance circulation, daylight penetration and spatial flexibility, allowing the apartment to adapt to shifting patterns of occupation without altering its structural logic.

Sustainability Approach

Operational energy formed a central pillar of the project’s sustainable agenda. In a city where much of the residential stock remains energetically inefficient, the renovation focused on substantially reducing operational demand instead of relying on superficial upgrades. High-performance glazing, low-energy lighting, photovoltaic provision and the replacement of the existing gas heating system with an air-source heat pump collectively led to a reduction of more than 65% in operational energy consumption. The apartment’s energy classification was upgraded from Z to B+, marking a significant environmental improvement within the existing shell.

Design Philosophy

Athena Residence reflects a broader architectural attitude emerging in Athens, one that values continuity, responsibility and careful engagement with the existing built fabric. Rather than extracting value through spectacle, the project demonstrates how targeted, precise interventions can enhance comfort, environmental performance and longevity. In doing so, it proposes an alternative model of small-scale hospitality: one embedded in the city’s everyday life, respectful of its material history and oriented toward durable, long-term use.

In dialogue with nature

The new exhibition space is located in the heart of Platres, nestled among pine trees and the stone textures of the mountainous Troodos landscape, and stands as a contemporary, understated architectural gesture. From the outset, the intention is clear: not to impose upon the environment, but to shape a structure that rises organically from its natural setting, engaging it in terms of balance and continuity.

Material Palette

The composition is grounded in the use of natural materials – local stone and exposed concrete surfaces – that draw their tonal qualities and textures directly from the earth. Rather than confronting the mountainous terrain, the building integrates into it, adopting a calm, grounded presence. Clean lines and a minimalist volumetric expression reinforce a sense of measure, establishing a contemplative dialogue between the natural and the man-made, the solid and the transparent.

Design Philosophy

The building’s formal articulation is achieved through a series of horizontal concrete slabs, differentiated in height and projection, generating a controlled interplay of light and shadow. This succession of planes introduces rhythm and a subtle sense of movement, as though the architecture were interpreting the geometry of the landscape itself. Materiality and geometry act as carriers of atmosphere, shaping a space defined by continuity, serenity, and spatial clarity.

Functional Organization

The transition between interior and exterior is treated with complete fluidity. Full-height aluminium glazing dissolves visual boundaries, allowing natural light, forest air, and ambient sounds to permeate the interior. The exhibition space operates as an open platform for art and culture, hosting exhibitions, installations, and community events. More than an autonomous structure, it constitutes an experience of inhabiting nature through architecture – a poetic composition that invites visitors to reconsider their relationship with the landscape through the lens of art, light, and materiality.

The courtyard as an extension

This project concerns the renovation of an apartment located in a 1970s residential building in Palaio Psychiko. The residence unfolds across two levels, ground floor and basement, and features an open-air courtyard at the rear, conceived as a natural extension of the domestic space.

Renovation Strategy

A fundamental architectural intention was to respect the morphology and materiality of the existing shell. No alterations were made to the exterior façades, apart from careful maintenance and the subtle enhancement of the original materials, preserving the building’s character within its urban context. The interior layout is structured around principles of clarity, fluid circulation and functional simplicity, prioritizing comfort and adaptability in everyday living.

Material Palette

The aesthetic direction follows a minimal approach, articulated through an earthy color palette, wood-effect surfaces and nuanced variations of texture across walls and built-in furnishings. Warm lighting reinforces a sense of calm, while concealed lighting elements and refined finishes in the bathrooms cultivate an atmosphere of relaxation and intimacy.

Courtyard Design

The uncovered rear space is transformed into a sheltered courtyard, where the preservation of the existing stone surfaces and the integration of built-in seating with planters strengthen the dialogue between interior and exterior. A generous opening in the living area visually and functionally unifies these two realms, culminating in a residence defined by quiet quality and a timeless architectural character.

Pocket Nursery

Set within a garden in the Belgian countryside stands the newly constructed wooden volume of Pocket Nursery, a 120m² “pocket” kindergarten whose architecture seeks to support learning through action and physical engagement.

Design Philosophy

In response to the programmatic requirements and the specific pedagogical approach, the creation of a space capable of cultivating design sensitivity in children was not simply desirable, but fundamental. The scope of spatial experimentation was largely determined by the thickness of the walls: their lower sections incorporate small steps for toddlers learning to stand, while their inclined surfaces double as drawing boards. Openings are positioned at the children’s eye level, establishing a direct visual connection with the garden, which functions as both a spatial extension and an integral component of the educational experience. An inclined table is also embedded within the walls, serving alternately as a pottery workstation or as a communal surface for shared meals.

Custom Construction

The ceiling – so often an overlooked architectural element, typically relegated to housing smoke detectors and mechanical devices – assumes a central role in this project. Considering that infants spend the first nine months of their lives lying on their backs or crawling, the ceiling design integrates not only structural logic but also acoustic performance and lighting strategy. Necessary equipment is discreetly concealed between layers of wooden panels, which articulate circulation toward the garden and the dormitories.

Material Palette

Construction time efficiency played a decisive role in shaping the project’s design strategy. Avoiding prefabricated wall systems and costly psychomotor furniture, the spatial framework was conceived to integrate both structure and furnishing into a continuous series of timber frames. Executed in laminated plywood sheets, the turned wooden frames were preassembled into units of three to four segments within just a few days, then transported to the site where they were joined together. The result is a cohesive environment that bridges interactive design and pedagogy through construction itself.

Functional Connection

The recently completed addition to the campus of the European University Cyprus houses the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine. More specifically, the building comprises standard tertiary education classrooms along with their supporting facilities, as well as laboratories of various kinds in conjunction with a series of complementary communal spaces.

Urban Context and Institutional Role

Given the building’s significant institutional role within the university campus, the architecture was required to establish a connection with the existing facilities while preserving the distinctiveness of its character. The project site lies along one of Nicosia’s main traffic arteries (Agiou Prokopiou Avenue), an urban environment that remains largely under development. As such, the building seeks to respond with a restrained yet substantial presence within this context of extended distances and high-speed movement. The architecture of the area presents certain characteristics, which the project was called upon to respect.

Design Philosophy

The objective, therefore, was for the extension to become the new architectural expression of the university and to shape its modernised identity, while retaining the fundamental lines of the existing buildings’ morphology. This connection was achieved through the design of the facades using customised aluminium frames that reference the earlier morphology of the openings, while simultaneously providing the necessary protection against constantly shifting climatic conditions. The specially designed profiles shade the interior without restricting views, creating an engaging interplay between closed and open, solid and transparent. Within the broader modernisation of the university facilities, both the facades and the existing buildings were renovated and upgraded. In parallel, a smart building management system was installed to optimise energy performance and operational efficiency.

Functional Integration & Lighting

Beyond the aesthetic unification with the existing built complex, a key objective was the functional interconnection of the university buildings, which are developed on either side of a road axis. To ensure safe and comfortable movement between them, an elevated bridge was designed, organically integrated into the university’s internal circulation network. The architectural design was completed with a lighting study that discreetly highlights the lines and individual features of the facades. The exterior lighting lends depth and continuity to the complex’s presence, maintaining its identity and visibility even beyond operating hours.

In-between zone

The residence is located in the region of Argolis, in Ermioni, on an amphitheatrical site offering views to the sea to the north and the mountainous terrain to the east. The design field itself dictated from the outset the manner in which the building would develop, shaping an architectural gesture that mediates between the road and the open landscape.

Spatial Organization

The building is organized to clearly define its boundaries toward the road and neighboring properties, ensuring privacy while remaining open and extroverted toward the surrounding vistas. The residence turns decisively toward the sea and the mountain, with the distinctive curve at its southwestern edge symbolically and spatially expressing this movement, while simultaneously marking the sequence of entry.

Interior spaces are arranged to secure direct visual connections with the environment. The ground floor accommodates the living areas, a guest room, and auxiliary functions serving the outdoor spaces, while the upper level hosts the bedrooms, maintaining both privacy and unobstructed views.

Design Philosophy

In front of the residence, a swimming pool extends along the façade, its geometry following that of the building and reinforcing the coherence of the composition. The water element operates as an intermediate threshold between the built structure and the natural terrain, visually amplifying the relationship with the horizon and intensifying the dialogue with the sea.

The overall configuration of the outdoor areas underscores the continuity between interior and exterior, transforming movement through the house into a sequence of experiences shaped by light, shadow, and framed views.

Material Palette

The selection of materials – stone, wood, and earthy tones – strengthens the connection to place and anchors the building within the landscape of Argolis. The architectural approach remains restrained and austere, employing clear geometries that allow the user to experience directly the relationship with nature – the sea, the mountain, and the land.

Through human scale and natural materials, the project proposes a contemporary understanding of luxury: simple, essential, and deeply intertwined with the environment and the lived experience of the landscape.

Perforated screen

The project concerns the architectural planning and interior design of a boutique hotel unit located on the island of Tinos. The individual unit consists of a 50m² ground floor, incorporating a vestibule, and a 27m² attic level. In parallel, a general masterplan was developed as a proposal for the arrangement of 13 accommodation units across a 15-acre plot.

Design Philosophy

The design concept draws direct inspiration from the traditional dovecotes of Tinos, emphasizing their architectural, historical, and cultural significance. The project is grounded in an in-depth study of the dovecotes’ structural logic, morphology, and original function. The proportions, volume, and overall massing of the hotel unit reinterpret those of a typical dovecote, translating vernacular principles into a contemporary hospitality context.

The morphology of the building shell itself evokes the image of a dovecote. The entrance is defined by a “clostra element” – a perforated architectural screen that introduces a strong geometric expression. This feature references the traditional dovecote façade, originally designed as the birds’ point of entry. In contrast, the remaining surfaces are predominantly solid, creating a deliberate tension between openness and enclosure.

Context Integration

The units are carefully positioned in dialogue with the natural environment, responding to both orientation and topography. The complex is embedded within the landscape, facing the sea approximately 200m away, on the southern part of the island. A key guiding principle was the morphology of the island terrain, particularly its characteristic dry-stone walls, which informed both the spatial layout and the landscape design.

Beyond referencing dovecote architecture, the project aims to reconnect visitors with the land through an agritourism-oriented approach. Cultivation and engagement with the landscape are integral to the experience. Water also plays a central role in the design, reflecting the historical placement of dovecotes near springs or running water. Private pools are integrated into the site, following the logic of the dry-stone walls and unfolding organically across the terrain.

Spatial Organization

The total interior area of each unit is 77m². Entry is mediated by a vestibule positioned between the “clostra screen” and the glazed façade, ensuring a gradual transition and enhanced privacy. Shading is user-controlled, allowing flexibility in light and openness. The interior is organized as an open-plan space, where curved lines and natural materials foster a nest-like atmosphere that blends seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. On the ground floor, the living area forms the spatial core, flowing into the dining space and kitchen. A circular staircase leads to the attic level, which accommodates the bedroom, an open shower, and a WC.

The side walls feature rough-textured finishes, recesses, and openings that reinterpret the original functional cavities of dovecotes – spaces once intended to host birds. Integrated planting within the interior further reinforces the connection to the earth and natural cycles.

Finally, the accommodation units are conceived as sanctuaries, acting as spaces of retreat and introspection. They encourage seclusion, serenity, and a sense of isolation from everyday life, offering guests a distinctive spatial experience that promotes relaxation and reconnection with both nature and self.

Civic framework

In the early 2000s, ‘Paspoel,’ a neighbourhood in Tongeren, Belgium, was seen as a poorly designed and poorly maintained social housing area lacking a distinct identity. Residents felt isolated within their apartments, surrounded by an underutilized, park-like landscape that was unsafe. The development included 192 homes spread across three monolithic blocks that were nearing the end of their lifespan. Faced with the decision to demolish or renovate, the Flemish Ministry of Housing opted for demolition, aligning with our client’s goal to significantly enhance social equity and living conditions.

Site Challenges

Because the site held archaeological significance, development was restricted to the foundations of existing buildings and the adjacent basement parking. Despite these limitations, the proposal envisioned an pioneering reimagining: a collection of urban villas, terraces, and a revitalized public realm that would serve as a new civic framework for the community.

The design integrates residents’ natural movement across the site – from the northeast to the southwest – within a ‘grid-like’ spatial layout. This creates a series of interconnected ‘outdoor rooms’ that frame daily journeys and spontaneous interactions amongst neighbors. These outdoor spaces encourage community bonding, stewardship, and healthy living through areas designated for gathering, playing, and growing.

Functional Organization

The ground floors, framed by buildings ranging from three to eight stories, offer ample opportunities for social interaction. Terraces with front doors navigate the sloping terrain, while wide ‘galleries’ allow neighbors to connect while overlooking gardens. The broad entrances of the urban villas extend over public spaces, providing shelter, pathways, and seating. New community rooms at ground level serve as venues for meetings and local events. Landscaped areas cater to all ages, featuring basketball courts, formal play zones, community gardens, and sheltered lawns for informal recreation. Trees line key pathways, serving as shelters and defining three communal areas. A pedestrian street at the heart of the project, lively with front-door activity, supports outdoor pop-up events.

Construction Strategy

A crucial aspect of the project was ensuring residents could remain on site throughout the transformation. Due to limited buildable space, a complex phased construction plan was implemented over ten years. The basement parking permitted initial phases to be built between the old structures, facilitating a gradual process of demolition, construction, and resident relocation.

The “Caring Neighborhoods” initiative launched alongside construction fostered cooperation among residents, volunteers, associations, and professionals. Emphasizing livability and community involvement, this program brought services closer to residents.

Clear details

The primary intention of the project was to create a residence that offers protection without sacrificing a sense of openness -an environment in which spaces are revealed gradually, guiding the experience from the urban frontage toward a luminous inner world.

Design Philosophy

The architectural composition is organized through horizontal volumes that slide past one another, forming shaded seating areas and carefully calibrated openings. These elements express the project’s central idea: a dialogue between transparency and privacy. Toward the street, the building adopts a more introverted stance, allowing only selective views outward. Near the garden, however, the architecture becomes almost diaphanous, as large sliding surfaces open entire façades, integrating the exterior into the everyday life of the interior spaces. Materiality follows the same logic: clean horizontal lines, textured plaster finishes, and solid surfaces convey stability, while expansive glazing introduces lightness and permeability.

Spatial Organization

Within the interior prevails a strong sense of continuity. The ground floor functions as a unified social field where the living area, kitchen, and dining space flow seamlessly into one another. The dining area, conceived as a double-height space, forms the spatial core of the house. A large skylight above allows natural light to penetrate deep into the interior, creating an ever-changing atmosphere that accompanies the rhythm of the day. This luminous void acts as a vertical connector, giving the home the character of an internal “courtyard” that links the different levels.

The upper floor accommodates the private functions. The master bedroom is positioned on the most protected side of the plot and is complemented by generous auxiliary spaces. The remaining bedrooms are designed as flexible units, offering independence to family members, while the attic functions as a workspace.

Material Palette

The interior material palette remains calm and earthy: warm tones, soft textures, and refined detailing create an atmosphere of balance and serenity – an architecture grounded in restraint and light.