A 90m² apartment in Thiseio is renovated through selective retention rather than complete replacement, restoring its original parquet and marble floors while introducing palladiana made from marble offcuts, limewashed walls and a discreet upgrade of the existing building fabric.

 

The Thiseio Residence in Athens by Fineline Studio occupies a 90m² apartment from the 1960s, a few streets below the Acropolis. Rather than stripping the interior back to the concrete frame, the renovation begins with the material qualities already present in the apartment, restoring original parquet and marble floors and limiting new interventions to those required for its new use as short-term accommodation.

The existing apartment is treated as a material resource rather than an obsolete shell. Original surfaces are repaired where possible, while new elements are designed to complement rather than conceal them.

 

Restoring the existing floors

The most important material decision concerns the floor. Beneath later laminate finishes, the architects uncovered the apartment’s original parquet and marble surfaces. Instead of removing them, they were repaired and retained as part of the new interior.

Where new flooring was necessary, palladiana was laid using marble offcuts that would otherwise have been discarded. The technique recalls a material language once common in the Athenian polykatoikia, but is reintroduced here through reclaimed stone rather than as a nostalgic reproduction.

Old and new flooring meet on the same plane, allowing the transition between the original apartment and the contemporary intervention to remain clearly visible.

 

Palladiana from marble offcuts

The new palladiana provides both a practical and a material connection with the existing apartment. Fragments of marble in varying shapes and tones are incorporated into the floor rather than being discarded.

Their irregular composition contrasts with the linear geometry of the restored parquet while sharing a common mineral character with the existing marble. The distinction between preserved and newly introduced materials therefore remains legible without interrupting the continuity of the interior.

 

Few new elements, multiple functions

The apartment was prepared as a short-term let for a boutique hospitality developer, leading to a deliberately limited number of new additions. Open wardrobes reduce the need for extensive new joinery, while limewashed walls provide a simple, tactile finish.

Microcement is used in the bathrooms and on the kitchen counters, creating continuous surfaces that remain visually restrained against the retained floors.

A single integrated bench defines the edge between the kitchen, dining and living areas. Combining seating with storage, it organises the shared space without introducing an additional partition, concentrating several domestic functions within a small number of architectural elements.

 

Upgrading the existing fabric

A significant part of the renovation remains largely invisible. New glazing, insulation and upgraded building services are incorporated within the existing fabric without changing the material character of the apartment.

According to the project data, these interventions reduce operational energy demand by 46% and remove the need for oil-fired heating. The environmental upgrade is achieved primarily through improvements to the building envelope and technical systems rather than through a visibly technological interior, allowing the retained parquet, marble and existing spatial character to remain central to the project.

 

Reuse as a design method

The Thiseio Residence is defined less by the addition of new materials than by the decision to retain what was already available. Original parquet and marble floors remain visible, reclaimed marble becomes new palladiana, and a limited palette of limewash and microcement provides a quiet background for the existing fabric.

Fineline Studio uses the renovation to demonstrate how a typical Athenian apartment can be updated without erasing the material evidence of its period. New elements are concentrated where they are functionally necessary, while the existing construction is treated as the starting point of the design rather than as something to be removed.

The result is a contemporary interior in which the distinction between preserved and newly introduced materials remains deliberately legible.

A 1960s public building in central Athens is converted into a 24-room boutique hotel, with a new planted façade, an open ground floor connected to the city and guestrooms organized around Greek materials and subdued natural tones.

 

The Social Athens Hotel by OOAK Architects transforms a public building dating from the 1960s into a contemporary 24-room boutique hotel. The 1,370m² project is organized over eight levels, combining accommodation with restaurant, reception and fitness functions while establishing a more direct relationship between the building and the surrounding city.

The intervention develops two distinct conditions. At street level, the hotel opens towards public life through its restaurant and the existing arcade. Above, the guestrooms become progressively more private, while the new white façade uses undulating surfaces, planting and changing light to establish a recognizable identity within the urban fabric.

 

A new façade towards the city

The existing building acquires a completely new external identity.

The white façade introduces a sequence of undulating forms whose perception changes according to daylight and shadow. References to classical Greek architecture remain abstract, translated through repetition, depth and the contrast between illuminated and shaded surfaces.

Instead of the projecting balconies typical of Athenian apartment buildings, planting is integrated directly into the façade. Vegetation forms an intermediate layer between the guestrooms and the city, increasing privacy while softening the relationship between the interior and the street.

The elevation consequently acquires depth and variation without relying on a conventional repetition of balconies.

 

Opening the ground floor to the city

At street level, the project deliberately establishes a more public character.

The bar-restaurant is integrated into the ground floor as a meeting point for both hotel guests and city residents. Its programme extends into the existing public arcade, allowing the boundary between interior and exterior to remain visually and functionally porous.

Lighting reinforces this continuity, while the reception retains a separate and more protected entrance. The two functions can therefore coexist on the same level without the restaurant operating simply as an extension of the hotel lobby.

The columns of the arcade are clad in mirror, multiplying reflections from the street and emphasizing the public character of the base of the building.

 

A compact double-height reception

The reception occupies a deliberately compact area while making use of the existing double-height volume.

Mirrored surfaces extend the perceived dimensions of the space, while a more concentrated colour palette distinguishes it from both the exterior and the guestrooms above. Red marble is used on the floor and stair, while a cobalt-blue reception desk becomes the principal colour accent.

The intensity of the materials and colours gives the entrance level a more outward-facing character that responds to the movement and activity of central Athens.

On the accommodation floors, however, the design language changes considerably.

 

A quieter material language in the guestrooms

The six floors of guestrooms and suites contain different room typologies but share a common material approach.

The vivid atmosphere of the ground floor gives way to subdued natural tones and materials sourced from Greece. Stone and textiles introduce characteristic textures, while purpose-designed elements combine more than one function within the rooms.

Marble bed headboards turn an ordinarily decorative component into an architectural surface, while built-in sofas can also function as desks.

This shift in colour and material establishes a clear transition between the extroverted character of the lower levels and the quieter environment of the accommodation areas.

 

From public space to privacy

The hotel programme develops vertically according to different degrees of public and private use.

The ground floor and mezzanine accommodate the bar-restaurant, breakfast area and reception. The six upper levels contain the guestrooms, while the top floor includes a gym with open views towards Lycabettus Hill and central Athens.

OOAK Architects therefore redefine the 1960s building not only through its renovation but primarily through a new relationship with the city. The redesigned façade establishes a new urban presence, the ground floor extends into the arcade, and the accommodation floors create a more protected interior behind the expressive exterior.

 

The project was first published in print in ek277 | May 2023.

A late-1970s duplex residence in Athens is renovated without erasing its original character, retaining the sculptural spiral stair, built-in cabinetry and ceramic surfaces while introducing a new layer of petrol blue, orange and red.

 

The duplex residence in Athens by Nefelia Studio approaches renovation as a process of continuity rather than replacement. Built in the late 1970s, the house already possessed a distinct architectural language, defined by a sculptural spiral stair, extensive built-in cabinetry, double-height spaces and original ceramic surfaces.

Instead of reducing the interior to a neutral shell, the intervention preserves these existing elements and uses colour and material to give them a new presence. The original spatial organization remains largely intact, while targeted additions establish a contemporary layer without concealing the age of the residence.

 

Working with the existing architecture

The renovation begins with the decision to retain the qualities already embedded in the house.

The original cabinetry, stair and ceramic finishes are treated as active components of the new design rather than as elements to be removed. Their proportions and positions continue to organize circulation, storage and the relationship between the different spaces.

This approach allows the architecture of the late 1970s to remain legible while avoiding a literal restoration of the period. The new interventions are clearly contemporary but develop through a direct relationship with the existing interior.

 

Petrol blue and an orange stair

Colour becomes one of the principal tools of the renovation.

Existing built-in cabinetry is retained and finished in a deep petrol blue. The continuous colour transforms the storage surfaces into a defining architectural element, organizing movement through the house and framing views between adjacent areas.

At the centre of the residence, the original spiral stair is reinterpreted in vivid orange. Its curved geometry and saturated colour emphasize its sculptural character and establish it as the main visual anchor within the double-height interior.

Rather than introducing colour as a decorative layer, the project uses it to clarify existing forms and reinforce their role within the spatial composition.

 

A new kitchen within the existing language

The newly constructed kitchen follows the same approach.

Petrol-blue cabinetry continues the colour established by the existing built-in elements, while glossy orange ceramic tiles introduce a reflective surface. A bright red sink adds a third, concentrated colour accent.

The combination is deliberately expressive but remains tied to architectural elements rather than loose decoration. Colour defines volumes, distinguishes functions and responds to changing light across the surfaces.

The kitchen consequently reads as a new intervention while remaining connected to the broader chromatic language of the residence.

 

Preserving the original bathrooms

The bathrooms demonstrate the same strategy of selective retention.

Original ceramic wall tiles are carefully preserved and combined with contemporary materials, fittings and restrained sanitary ware. The existing surfaces are not concealed in an attempt to make the rooms appear entirely new.

Instead, differences between the original construction and the contemporary additions remain visible.

The result acknowledges the age of the house while adapting the bathrooms to present-day use, maintaining a direct material connection with the original interior.

 

Colour, form and memory

Throughout the duplex, the intervention avoids unnecessary alteration of the existing spatial organization.

The project concentrates on the elements that already give the house its identity and strengthens them through colour, new finishes and carefully positioned additions. Built-in cabinetry remains part of the architectural structure, the spiral stair retains its central role and original ceramic surfaces continue to register the period in which the residence was built.

Nefelia Studio uses the renovation to establish new relationships between these existing elements rather than replacing them.

The house consequently retains the character of its late-1970s architecture while acquiring a distinctly contemporary chromatic identity. Petrol blue, orange and red become architectural tools within a project where continuity is valued over erasure.

Opposite the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch, a hotel in central Athens uses vertical façade elements, framed balconies, marble, oak and integrated greenery to establish a contemporary dialogue with the city’s classical context.

 

Anthology of Athens by Elastic Architects is located in the historic centre of Athens, in direct visual dialogue with the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch. The design draws on the city’s classical references without reproducing them literally, translating proportion, verticality, materiality and views into a contemporary architectural language.

The concept also takes inspiration from the myth of Deucalion, in which stones thrown upon the earth become human beings. This relationship between matter and transformation becomes a recurring theme throughout the building, from the rhythm of the façade to the tactile treatment of the interiors.

 

A façade structured by proportion

The main elevation is organized through new balconies and a system of vertical elements that give the façade its principal rhythm.

Their spacing follows proportional relationships based on the golden section, establishing a clear grid across the elevation. These elements perform both functional and compositional roles, framing the balconies while controlling the visual relationship between the guestrooms and the surrounding city.

Rather than directly imitating classical columns, the vertical members abstract their linearity and rhythm. The reference to the nearby Temple of Olympian Zeus therefore operates through proportion and repetition rather than ornament.

 

Framing the Athenian landscape

The façade functions as a series of filters between interior space and the urban landscape.

The projecting balconies create depth and shade, while their vertical frames structure views towards the archaeological monuments and the wider city. From the upper levels, these openings become architectural devices for observing rather than simply overlooking Athens.

Light and shadow continuously alter the perception of the elevation. The vertical elements cast changing patterns across the balconies, reinforcing the depth of the façade and giving the building a different appearance throughout the day.

The architecture is therefore shaped not only by its physical form, but also by the changing relationship between material, daylight and view.

 

Classical references through abstraction

The project interprets its historical surroundings through contemporary geometry.

The rhythm of ancient colonnades is translated into slender vertical forms, while the orthogonal organization of the façade provides a controlled framework for the different openings and balconies.

This grid also influences the organization of the interiors, extending the logic of the exterior into the spatial structure of the hotel. The reference remains abstract: the design does not reproduce classical motifs, but reworks principles of proportion, repetition and structural rhythm.

 

A more expressive interior

Inside, the architectural language becomes more tactile and expressive.

Marble, oak, glass and textured plaster create a layered material environment, while integrated planting introduces a contrasting natural element. The interplay between mineral, timber and planted surfaces gives the communal spaces greater depth without departing from the restrained palette established by the architecture.

The use of natural materials connects different areas of the hotel while allowing changes in texture to distinguish individual spaces.

Curved elements appear alongside the more orthogonal geometry of the building, introducing a softer counterpoint within circulation areas and shared interiors.

 

Marble, oak and textured surfaces

Materiality becomes particularly important in the guestrooms and communal areas.

Marble provides the principal mineral surface, while oak introduces warmth and a finer texture. Glass with decorative treatment and fluted plaster add further variation, creating different responses to natural and artificial light.

The colour palette remains controlled, with off-white, beige and earth tones extending across both interior and exterior surfaces. These restrained colours reinforce continuity between materials and allow the architectural elements, vegetation and views to remain visually prominent.

 

Architecture as a filter of views

Anthology of Athens uses its position within the historic centre as a central component of the design.

The façade mediates between the intimacy of the guestrooms and the monumental scale of the surrounding city, while the interiors develop the same concept through changes in material, texture and light.

Elastic Architects translate classical references into proportion and rhythm rather than direct quotation. Vertical elements, framed balconies, marble surfaces and greenery establish a contemporary architectural identity whose relationship with Athens is defined primarily through what it frames, filters and reveals.

 

The project was first published in print in ek302 | November 2025.

The historic Electra Hotel on Ermou Street is comprehensively redesigned around the concept of urban rhythm, introducing four new room typologies, publicly accessible social spaces and a reworked ground-level façade connected directly with the pedestrian life of central Athens.

 

Electra Rhythm Athens by Mutiny Architects is the new incarnation of the historic Electra Hotel Athens at 5 Ermou Street. The project uses the notion of rhythm as the organizing concept for the architectural and interior design, translating the pace, repetition and movement of the city into spatial sequences, material choices and architectural details.

The redesign addresses the hotel as a whole, from guestrooms and shared interiors to the entrance and lower section of the façade. A central objective was to create new room typologies for contemporary travellers while opening parts of the building to the wider public through spaces for coffee, work, exercise and dining.

 

 

Four room typologies

The hotel contains 101 guestrooms, completely redesigned according to four principal types: Nest, Slow, Cozy and Active.

Each typology, together with its variations and suites, responds to different room sizes, patterns of use and requirements of individual guests. Despite these differences, a common architectural vocabulary gives the accommodation a coherent identity.

Timber and marbles associated with the Athenian urban landscape form the principal material palette. Curved forms appear in ceilings, lighting elements and selected architectural details, while repetition provides the most direct spatial expression of the overall concept.

Vertical members, horizontal planes and recurring architectural elements introduce rhythm at different scales within each room.

 

Opening the hotel to the city

Three principal spaces extend the programme beyond conventional hotel functions and are also accessible to the public.

Rebels Brew operates as a curated coffee shop and bar directly facing the Ermou pedestrian street. Collaborative Studios provide spaces for professional meetings and flexible work, while Focal, on the highest accessible level, functions as both the hotel restaurant and an independent bar-restaurant.

This mixture of hospitality and public uses establishes a more porous relationship between the hotel and the surrounding city.

The shared areas are not treated as isolated amenities for hotel guests, but as spaces that participate in the everyday activity of central Athens.

 

 

Reinterpreting the Athenian arcade

At ground level, reception, lounges, a library, kitchen facilities and Rebels Brew are organized in direct relationship with the principal circulation areas.

The redesign of the entrance draws on the Athenian arcade, a characteristic element of the city’s modern urban fabric. Rather than creating a sharply defined threshold, the entrance supports a more fluid transition from the Ermou pedestrian street into the hotel.

The concept of rhythm therefore extends beyond decorative repetition. It becomes part of the movement through the building, connecting the pace of the street with the organization of the internal spaces.

 

Work, exercise and hospitality

The first floor accommodates the Collaborative Studios together with the Electro Studio Gym.

Both programmes introduce uses that move beyond the traditional division between guestrooms and hotel amenities. The workspaces respond to hybrid modes of professional activity, while the gym adds another outward-facing programme within the building.

Guestrooms occupy the second through ninth floors. On the tenth floor, Focal forms the uppermost public destination of the hotel, with three terraces, two of them offering unobstructed views towards the Acropolis.

The programme consequently develops vertically from the most urban and publicly accessible functions at street level towards accommodation and, finally, the rooftop restaurant.

 

 

A new base for the existing façade

The main part of the existing façade, including the openings of the guestrooms facing Ermou Street, was retained.

The lower part, however, was completely redesigned to reinforce its relationship with the pedestrian street. A new olive-green zone extends across the ground and mezzanine levels, visually establishing a base for the composition.

Arches articulate this lower section, while an illuminated entrance canopy projects towards the street. Its geometry deliberately contrasts with the linear direction of the pedestrian route, marking the entrance while introducing a more dynamic element into the existing elevation.

The intervention therefore concentrates the most visible external transformation at the level where the hotel meets the city.

 

Rhythm as an architectural system

Across the guestrooms, shared spaces and façade, rhythm is interpreted through repetition, sequences, curved forms and movement.

Rather than applying the concept as a graphic theme, Mutiny Architects use it to connect different scales of the project: the vertical elements within the rooms, the circulation through communal areas, the reinterpretation of the arcade and the new architectural base facing Ermou Street.

Electra Rhythm Athens consequently transforms an established city hotel while retaining much of its existing urban presence. The new interventions focus on the relationship between hospitality and public life, extending the internal programme towards the rhythms of contemporary Athens.

 

The project was first published in print in ek302 | November 2025, in the CITY section.

A typical Athenian apartment in Pangrati is reorganized around natural light and spatial continuity, combining an open living area with restored herringbone parquet and a continuous timber volume that conceals secondary functions.

The Apartment in Pangrati by Narration Architects reinterprets the conventional layout of an Athenian residence through a series of targeted interventions. Unnecessary partitions and a dark internal corridor are removed, allowing natural light to penetrate deeper into the apartment and creating a more continuous relationship between the main living spaces.

Rather than replacing the original character of the interior, the renovation combines new spatial elements with existing materials. The restored herringbone timber floor extends through the unified areas, while integrated furniture and timber cladding organize storage, circulation and secondary functions within a restrained material palette.

 

An open-plan living area

The reorganization of the plan focuses on removing the fragmentation of the existing apartment.

The former corridor and unnecessary partitions give way to an open sequence of spaces where kitchen, dining and living areas remain visually connected. Natural light can consequently move more freely through the interior, while circulation becomes part of the main living space rather than a separate zone.

The intervention establishes a clearer hierarchy between the principal domestic functions without relying on additional walls. Furniture, material transitions and built-in elements instead provide more subtle forms of spatial definition.

 

The kitchen as a social core

The kitchen becomes the centre of the new organization.

Positioned in direct relation to the living room, it is designed as an active social space rather than a separate functional area. A central island accommodates dining and gathering, responding to the owners’ request for an open setting for everyday meals and entertaining.

Its central position reinforces the continuity of the plan and allows activities traditionally distributed among different rooms to coexist within the same open environment.

The kitchen consequently operates as both a working surface and a point of social interaction, connecting the different areas of the apartment.

 

A timber volume conceals secondary functions

One of the principal interventions is the integration of the bathroom behind continuous timber cladding.

A concealed door provides access to the bathroom, allowing its entrance and associated utility functions to disappear within a clean wooden volume. The element introduces a warmer material presence while reducing visual fragmentation in the main living space.

Rather than treating storage and secondary rooms as independent components, the design incorporates them within a single architectural surface.

The timber volume therefore operates simultaneously as enclosure, storage and spatial organizer, establishing a quieter background for the more open parts of the residence.

 

Restoring the original herringbone floor

The existing herringbone timber flooring forms an important connection with the apartment’s previous configuration.

Instead of being replaced, it is restored and extended across the newly unified spaces. The continuity of the parquet helps connect areas that were previously separated by walls and circulation zones, while maintaining a material reference to the original apartment.

The intervention uses the existing floor as an active part of the new spatial organization rather than simply preserving it as a historical detail.

Its texture and warm tone also provide a counterpoint to the cleaner surfaces and integrated elements introduced by the renovation.

 

 

Low elements and visual continuity

In the living room, horizontal lines and low furniture preserve long views across the apartment and reinforce the sense of openness.

The same principle is transferred to the bedroom, where a low ledge runs behind the bed and is completed by a slim timber shelf. Integrated niches replace conventional bedside tables, incorporating everyday functions directly into the architectural composition.

The use of low elements reduces visual obstruction and allows the proportions of the existing rooms to remain clearly perceived.

Natural materials, neutral tones and controlled lighting complete the interior, with new interventions remaining deliberately restrained in relation to the existing apartment.

 

Continuity rather than fragmentation

The renovation is ultimately based on reducing the number of independent spatial elements.

Walls are removed where separation is no longer necessary, while storage, access to secondary spaces and furniture are consolidated into continuous architectural components.

Narration Architects use the restored parquet, timber cladding and open relationship between kitchen and living room to establish a more connected domestic environment without erasing the apartment’s existing character.

The result is a contemporary urban interior shaped by natural light, material continuity and a clearer relationship between circulation and everyday living.

Corporate orange, exposed building services and warmer timber surfaces define the 600m² headquarters of technology company M-STAT in Athens, combining the visual language of technical infrastructure with more informal modes of working.

The M-Stat Headquarters in Athens by Minos Digenis Arquitectos transforms a 600m² open floor into the offices of a technology company active in mobile communication services. Two ideas establish the identity of the interior: the use of M-STAT’s corporate orange as a recurring visual element and the decision to leave the building services exposed as a reference to the technological character of the company.

Rather than concealing the technical infrastructure above a conventional suspended ceiling, cables, ducts and pipes become part of the architectural composition. Their orange finish extends the company’s visual identity through the workspace and turns an otherwise functional layer into one of the most recognizable elements of the project.

 

Technical infrastructure as interior architecture

The exposed services run beneath a lowered ceiling line at approximately 2.50m, creating a dense horizontal layer above the working areas.

Painting this network orange brings together the project’s two principal concepts: corporate identity and the visible presence of technology. The ceiling consequently operates less as a neutral background and more as an active component of the interior.

Against this technical layer, the remaining surfaces are deliberately quieter. The contrast makes the infrastructure legible while giving the workplace a consistent visual identity across its different functions.

 

Different settings for everyday work

The programme combines workstations and meeting rooms with areas organized according to different levels and forms of activity.

Rather than interpreting the headquarters solely as a collection of conventional desks and enclosed meeting rooms, the layout incorporates informal meeting points and spaces for breaks and social interaction.

A recreation area with a ping-pong table introduces a more relaxed use, while an open kitchen provides a shared setting where employees can meet during breakfast or lunch.

These programmes extend everyday working life beyond the individual workstation and establish a range of spaces for concentrated work, meetings and informal exchange.

 

A warmer workplace

Alongside the more technical expression of the exposed installations, the project introduces materials and elements associated with a warmer, more domestic environment.

Timber plays an important role in moderating the industrial character of the ceiling infrastructure. Its natural surface provides a tactile counterpoint to the exposed technical elements and the strong orange colour.

Planting introduces another layer within the workplace. Rather than functioning simply as decoration, greenery contributes to the definition of shared areas and reinforces the intention to create an environment less closely associated with the conventional corporate office.

The result combines two deliberately different registers: an exposed technological infrastructure overhead and a more informal, tactile environment at the level of everyday occupation.

 

Corporate identity beyond graphics

Colour is used as an architectural device rather than as an applied graphic layer.

By extending M-STAT’s orange across the visible cables, pipes and ducts, the design connects the company’s identity with the actual technical systems that support the workplace. Branding and infrastructure therefore occupy the same physical layer.

The strategy gives the headquarters a recognizable character without depending on an accumulation of signs or decorative references to the company.

Minos Digenis Arquitectos use the existing open floor, exposed services, timber and shared social areas to establish a workplace where technological identity and everyday comfort coexist within the same interior.

 

The project was first published in print in ek magazine 290 | September 2024, a monthly issue by ek Architectural Publications.

A white architectural shell, mint-green volumes and suspended oak elements reorganize a duplex apartment in Koukaki around light, colour and a restrained Mediterranean material palette.

Casa Menta in Athens by Space is around us is the renovation of a duplex apartment in Koukaki, conceived around the light, colours and material character of the Mediterranean landscape.

The intervention transforms a conventional interior dating from the 2000s into a clearer and more restrained domestic environment. Rather than introducing complexity through multiple materials or decorative gestures, the design reduces the interior to a continuous white architectural backdrop against which colour, furniture and everyday functions are carefully positioned.

 

Shared and private areas across two levels

The functional organization follows the existing division of the duplex.

The entrance level accommodates the shared living spaces, while the upper floor contains the private rooms. On the lower level, the previously undivided open-plan area is reorganized into three distinct but visually connected zones: kitchen, dining area and living room.

This differentiation is achieved without fragmenting the interior with additional partitions. Instead, furniture, colour and fixed elements define the individual functions while preserving visual continuity across the floor.

The arrangement allows the principal living spaces to remain open and flexible, while the upper level develops a more private domestic character.

 

A white shell as a neutral background

White surfaces establish the principal architectural language of the apartment.

Inspired by the whitewashed surfaces of Mediterranean architecture, the walls and ceilings form a continuous backdrop that reflects natural light and reinforces the sense of openness across both levels.

The intention is not to recreate a literal Mediterranean interior. Instead, the white shell creates a neutral field against which colour, texture and domestic functions can acquire greater definition.

The restrained treatment also reduces the visual weight of the existing apartment, allowing selected objects and built-in elements to become more prominent.

 

Existing materials retained and updated

Part of the intervention focuses on adapting rather than replacing the materials already present in the apartment.

The cement screed covering the communal spaces and the stair was updated with a continuous light-grey finish, establishing a neutral ground across the shared areas.

By contrast, the original timber parquet in the bedrooms was carefully restored. Its warmer material character differentiates the private spaces from the more mineral surfaces of the lower level.

This relationship between continuity and contrast allows the existing fabric to remain part of the new interior without dictating its overall character.

 

Floating volumes and integrated furniture

A series of lightweight elements introduces both function and colour within the white shell.

The mint-green kitchen becomes one of the most prominent volumes on the entrance level. Suspended oak furniture reinforces the impression of lightness, while storage and fixed elements are integrated into the architecture rather than treated as independent objects.

The white stair is conceived as a sculptural element within the duplex. Its continuous form contributes to the visual connection between the two levels while maintaining the restrained material language of the apartment.

Together, these elements organize everyday activities without overloading the interior.

 

Mint green as a recurring accent

Colour plays a central role in the identity of Casa Menta.

The palette draws on seafoam, olive trees, sun-bleached stone and pastel tones associated with Mediterranean landscapes. Within the predominantly white and light-grey interior, mint green becomes a recurring element that links different parts of the apartment.

The colour appears most clearly in the kitchen and returns in selected details throughout the residence.

Deeper green tones are concentrated in the bathroom, where the shower area becomes a more monolithic and visually intense element. The contrast introduces variation without disrupting the broader sense of continuity.

 

Lightness in everyday use

Storage, circulation and furniture are incorporated as part of the architectural composition.

Rather than filling the rooms with freestanding elements, the project integrates many everyday functions into suspended or visually lightweight volumes. This keeps the principal spaces open and allows movement between the different zones to remain unobstructed.

The result is an interior where the architectural shell remains deliberately quiet. White surfaces, restored timber, light-grey flooring and green accents form a limited palette, while natural light becomes one of the principal elements defining the changing atmosphere of the apartment.

Casa Menta ultimately combines functional reorganization with a reduced material language. Through colour, suspended elements and the selective retention of existing materials, Space is around us establishes a contemporary domestic environment shaped by clarity, light and a measured reference to the Mediterranean landscape.

Original plasterwork, five-metre-high ceilings and a century-old timber staircase provide the framework for the renovation of a 1920s apartment in Kypseli, where new materials, bespoke elements and contemporary technology coexist with the building’s eclectic character.

The Upper House in Athens by A&O Architects and Saint of Athens occupies the first floor of a 1920s building in Kypseli. The 220m² apartment retains characteristics of the eclectic domestic architecture that shaped parts of Athens during the early decades of the 20th century, including ceilings reaching five metres in height, intricate plaster decoration and an unusually generous spatial organization.

Originally built for the family of a Greek industrialist, the residence was reorganized for contemporary use without suppressing these existing qualities. The renovation preserves significant architectural elements while introducing new functions, furniture, finishes and technical systems.

 

 

Preserving the original spatial character

The existing plan provided a sequence of large rooms connected through generous openings, allowing circulation to move easily across the apartment.

Rather than replacing this organization with a radically different layout, the intervention works with the proportions and relationships already present. Two former reception rooms continue to function as living spaces, while a new dining room, principal bedroom with en-suite bathroom, guest bedroom and powder room are incorporated into the domestic programme.

A library, kitchen and pantry complete the arrangement. The functions are distinct, but the existing circulation allows them to remain connected as part of a continuous residential sequence.

At the centre of this relationship between old and new stands the original timber staircase. Carefully preserved, it remains one of the most recognizable elements of the apartment and makes the age of the building immediately legible.

 

Existing ornament as part of the new interior

The original plasterwork is treated as an active architectural layer rather than a decorative remnant.

Ceiling mouldings and ornamental details are retained against a restrained palette, allowing their relief and scale to remain visible. The height of the rooms reinforces their presence and gives the newly introduced furniture and lighting a different scale from that of a conventional contemporary apartment.

The intervention therefore does not attempt to neutralize the eclectic character of the residence. Instead, contemporary additions are inserted within the existing setting, producing deliberate contrasts between historic ornament, modern furniture and new material surfaces.

 

 

Bespoke elements and individual rooms

Custom-made elements play an important role throughout the apartment. A specially designed wardrobe, wall panelling and Japanese wallpaper introduce distinct identities to individual rooms without disconnecting them from the overall composition.

The new elements operate at different scales. Some become part of the architectural surfaces, while others appear as individual pieces of furniture or joinery.

Designer furniture, lighting, contemporary ceiling fans, artworks and objects collected by the occupants are combined with the existing architecture. Their arrangement gives each room a distinct character while preserving the sense that the apartment has accumulated different layers over time.

Rather than pursuing uniformity, the project allows variations in colour, material and furnishing from one room to another.

 

Timber flooring and Greek marble

The material palette connects the different areas while maintaining the contrast between the restored shell and the contemporary intervention.

Chevron timber flooring extends through the principal rooms and establishes a continuous geometric background. Greek marble is introduced alongside it in selected surfaces, particularly in the bathrooms and other areas where a more mineral finish is required.

Timber also appears in the original staircase and in new custom-made elements, allowing historic and contemporary components to share a common material reference without being visually identical.

The combination of timber, marble, painted surfaces, wallpaper and existing plaster decoration creates an interior defined by different textures rather than by a single uniform finish.

 

 

Contemporary systems within a historic apartment

The renovation also incorporates current domestic technology into the historic shell.

Internet of Things systems and contemporary heating and cooling equipment improve the everyday operation of the apartment while remaining visually secondary to the architectural character of the rooms. The technical upgrade is therefore integrated without turning the residence into an overtly technological environment.

This relationship between infrastructure and preservation is central to the project. Contemporary comfort is introduced within an existing spatial framework rather than used as a reason to erase it.

 

A contemporary layer within a 1920s interior

The Upper House is ultimately organized around the coexistence of different periods.

The original proportions, staircase and plaster decoration preserve the architectural identity of the 1920s residence. New joinery, wallpaper, furniture, lighting and technical systems introduce another layer corresponding to present-day domestic life.

A&O Architects and Saint of Athens therefore approach the renovation not as a reconstruction of a historical interior, but as an addition to its ongoing history. The existing building remains clearly visible while contemporary interventions establish a new domestic environment around it.

 

The project was first published in print in Apartments 2025, an annual edition by ek Architectural Publications.

Curved surfaces, flexible seminar rooms and exposed building systems define an additional floor of Baseblue’s Piraeus headquarters, designed for corporate events, meetings and staff training.

The Baseblue offices in Piraeus by R.C.TECH occupy an additional floor within the shipping company’s existing headquarters. Completed in 2023, the intervention creates a dedicated environment for corporate events, training seminars, meetings and informal interaction.

The interior draws on the spatial atmosphere of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Rather than translating this reference through literal imagery, the design develops it through continuous surfaces, contrasting colours and curved elements that organize circulation and give the space a sense of visual lightness.

 

 

A central zone defined by ceiling and floor

The main area is organized beneath a glossy white suspended ceiling. Its geometry is reflected in a corresponding change in the tone of the floor, defining a central zone without the need for additional partitions.

At the entrance, a large white table performs a dual role as reception desk and shared work surface. A curved blue metal wall follows its geometry, creating a visual boundary between the breakout area and the seminar facilities.

At the opposite end, two curved sofas form a circular lounge. The arrangement introduces a more informal setting for conversation while repeating the curved geometry that characterizes the entrance.

 

Flexible spaces for training

Flexibility becomes particularly important in the seminar area. Movable folding panels allow it to operate as two independent rooms or as one larger space, adapting the floor to different numbers of participants and types of events.

The furniture follows the same principle. Tables can be rearranged according to the requirements of each seminar, allowing configurations for teaching, presentations or collaborative work.

Acoustic performance is addressed through a perforated gypsum-board ceiling and specifically designed timber cladding. These elements form part of the architectural language rather than being introduced as independent technical additions.

 

 

Oak and exposed structure

The meeting room introduces a different material character. One wall is clad in oak, while the existing Zoellner slab remains exposed overhead.

This relationship between finished and unfinished surfaces continues throughout the project. Selected mechanical and electrical services are deliberately left visible, making the technical infrastructure of the office part of the interior.

The decision avoids concealing the existing construction behind a uniform suspended ceiling. Instead, the original structural system and new interventions remain visually distinct.

 

An architecture of elongated surfaces

Horizontal and vertical elements are deliberately extended beyond the scale of conventional furniture or partitions. The long white ceiling, curved metal wall, work surfaces and timber cladding are perceived as continuous architectural planes.

Their proportions, together with the exposed services and structural ceiling, reduce the sense of a conventionally enclosed office. Solid elements appear to detach from one another, reinforcing the impression of a lightweight interior.

The contrast between blue metal, white surfaces, natural oak and the existing structure provides a limited material palette through which the different functions remain clearly identifiable.

 

 

A workplace beyond individual desks

The project reflects a workplace programme centered not only on individual production but also on learning, exchange and collective activity.

Seminar rooms, meeting areas, shared work surfaces and informal seating coexist within the same floor, while movable elements allow the balance between them to change according to use.

Baseblue therefore operates as a flexible extension of the company’s headquarters. The intervention uses a small number of architectural devices—curved surfaces, colour, exposed structure and movable partitions—to create distinct working conditions without fragmenting the interior.

 

The project was first published in print in ek magazine 290 | September 2024, a monthly issue by ek Architectural Publications.

A series of light-touch interventions transforms a ground-floor apartment in Kolonaki into the architecture practice’s first permanent workplace, retaining the existing timber floors, glazed doors and arched entrance.

 

The Local Local workplace occupies a 77m² ground-floor apartment in Kolonaki, Athens. Designed by Local Local as the practice’s first permanent headquarters, the project adapts an existing residential interior through a series of non-structural interventions that preserve its previous architectural layers.

Before moving into the new office, the growing team had been working from founder Sofia Xanthakou’s own Plaka House. The new space provides a dedicated setting for collective work while translating the studio’s wider interest in context, material history and reuse into its everyday working environment.

 

Working with the existing apartment

As the property is leased, the intervention was deliberately restrained. Instead of substantially altering the existing plan, the design works with the qualities already present in the apartment.

The original timber floors were repaired and lightened to compensate for the limited direct sunlight reaching the ground-floor interior. White walls further increase luminosity, while the existing timber doors with rippled glazed panels were restored and finished in a slightly darker tone.

The arched entrance was also retained. Together, these elements preserve the domestic origins of the space rather than concealing them behind a conventional office fit-out.

The L-shaped plan is divided primarily between the main workspace and a meeting room with access from two sides. This simple organization allows the small office to accommodate different patterns of individual and collective work without introducing new permanent partitions.

 

Furniture as part of the workplace

A large solid-cypress table in the meeting room became the point of departure for the furniture designed specifically for the office.

Drawing on its material and proportions, Local Local developed a large communal worktable and two window-facing desks. Solid timber is combined with Formica to withstand the heavier daily use associated with the workplace.

The new elements coexist with chairs retrieved from storage rather than replaced with a complete new furniture set. This combination of bespoke pieces and existing objects gives the office an intentionally cumulative character.

The meeting room itself was formerly a bedroom. Its original wardrobe was retained, but its doors were removed and replaced with roll-up blinds. The simple alteration transforms the existing joinery into open storage for material samples and project documentation while keeping another layer of the apartment visible.

 

Books and collective design work

A Vitsœ shelving system occupies one of the main walls and holds Sofia Xanthakou’s architecture library, assembled over almost a decade of study and professional work.

Previously kept in storage, the books now form both a working resource and a visual backdrop to the studio. Their prominent position reflects the practice’s continued use of printed material as a tool for research and design.

Another wall is occupied by a long perforated-metal pinboard finished in pistachio green. Designed by Local Local, it allows drawings, references and work in progress to be displayed and reviewed collectively.

The element establishes an analogue counterpart to screen-based work. Projects can be pinned up, compared and discussed at a larger scale, turning the wall into an active part of the design process.

 

A more distinct entrance

The entrance was treated as an opportunity to give the workplace a clearer identity. The existing lobby had little natural light and lacked a distinct spatial character.

Local Local invited artist Theodore Psychoyos to create two site-specific marble pieces for this area: a sculptural console and a seat. Marble, already recurrent in the practice’s architectural work, introduces a denser material presence against the lighter background of timber floors and white walls.

The pieces are functional objects but also establish a more deliberate threshold between the street, the shared building and the studio.

Lighting contributes another precisely selected layer. Ceiling fixtures by Michael Anastassiades are used in the principal workspace, while a freestanding light by the same designer completes the meeting room.

 

An office designed to accumulate

The project does not pursue the image of a finished, immutable workplace. Existing architectural elements, restored furniture, new joinery, books, material samples and artworks are deliberately allowed to coexist.

This approach leaves space for the office to change as the practice develops. Objects and references can accumulate, work can occupy the walls, and individual areas can adapt to new routines without requiring substantial alterations to the apartment.

Through a limited number of interventions, the Local Local workplace demonstrates how an ordinary residential interior can acquire a new function while retaining its previous character. Rather than erasing the apartment, the design uses its existing features as the framework for a workplace shaped by collaboration, material research and gradual occupation.

Two concealed storage volumes organize the apartment into public and private zones, while visual axes derived from the building’s façade grid reinforce the transparency and architectural identity of the former Doxiadis headquarters.

 

Located in the One Athens residential complex in Kolonaki, the apartment occupies a building of distinctive typology and architectural significance that formerly housed the headquarters of architect and urban planner Konstantinos Doxiadis.

The renovation by Proplusma Architects approaches the interior with respect for this existing architectural identity. Instead of imposing an unrelated formal language, the design emphasizes the visual axes, transparency and structural elements already embedded in the building.

 

 

Two zones defined by concealed storage

Two continuous storage units run transversely across the floor plan and establish the principal organization of the residence.

The first zone contains the shared living spaces: sitting room, dining area and open-plan kitchen. The second accommodates the more private programme, including the children’s bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and the principal bedroom with its walk-in wardrobe and bathroom.

Rather than functioning simply as cupboards, the storage units operate as architectural boundaries. Their scale allows them to organize circulation, conceal secondary functions and separate the two parts of the apartment without introducing a conventional sequence of corridors and isolated rooms.

 

A grid derived from the existing façade

The design takes the geometric pattern of the building’s façades as a point of departure. Imaginary axes derived from this grid determine alignments both horizontally and vertically throughout the interior.

These lines coordinate openings, joinery, ceilings and fixed elements. As a result, individual interventions remain connected to a larger ordering system rather than appearing as independent objects.

The strategy also reinforces the relationship between the renovated apartment and the architecture of the original complex. The building’s exterior logic is translated into the organization of its interior, establishing visual continuity across the plan.

 

 

Exposed concrete and continuous timber flooring

In the living room, a recessed ceiling exposes the original concrete beams. Their rhythm remains visible as a recognizable element of the building’s construction and becomes one of the defining features of the shared space.

Concealed lighting around the recess emphasizes the depth and repetition of the beams without visually separating them from the broader composition.

A herringbone timber floor runs continuously through the apartment. Its warm material character contrasts with the exposed concrete and the predominantly monochromatic joinery, while its uninterrupted pattern reinforces spatial continuity.

At the centre of the living zone, the kitchen island becomes a focal point. Its substantial marble countertop establishes a material counterweight to the darker cabinetry behind it and connects the kitchen with the adjoining dining and sitting areas.

 

White and black storage surfaces

The two concealed storage bands are clad in timber finished in white and black lacquer. A regular grid of vertical grooves organizes the long surfaces and subtly marks the functions hidden behind them.

On the lighter side, the television and a bar adjacent to the dining area are integrated within the white cladding. When closed, the units become part of a continuous architectural surface rather than individual pieces of furniture.

On the opposite side, black lacquer gives the storage wall a denser character. A concealed door within the same surface provides access to the private part of the apartment, allowing the transition between the two zones to remain visually discreet.

 

 

Individual character within the private rooms

The more private areas introduce greater variation while remaining within the overall design system.

The children’s bedrooms respond to individual requirements, with bespoke elements and distinct colour palettes extending into their bathrooms. This allows each room to develop a recognizable character without disrupting the wider material coherence of the apartment.

In the principal bedroom, the composition places greater emphasis on depth and reflection. Mirrors, transparent wardrobe doors and concealed lighting create overlapping visual layers that expand the perception of the space.

The combination of transparency and reflection continues one of the central ideas of the residence. Boundaries remain legible, but they are repeatedly softened through visual connections and changing degrees of opacity.

Through a controlled palette of timber, marble, lacquered surfaces, glass and exposed concrete, the renovation establishes a contemporary domestic environment while retaining references to the original building. The design is defined less by added decoration than by alignment, concealment and the careful management of transparency.

 

The project was first published in print in Apartments 2025, an annual edition by ek Architectural Publications.

Bespoke joinery and movable partitions replace fixed rooms, allowing a compact 1970s apartment to shift between open-plan living, work and privacy.

 

Kifisia Apartment is located within the “Stroggyli Polykatoikia,” or Round Apartment Building, designed by architect Nikos Despotidis and constructed in 1973–1974. The renovation by Georgios Apostolopoulos Architects reconsiders the internal organization of the apartment while maintaining a clear relationship with the geometry of the original building.

Before the intervention, the plan was divided into a sequence of enclosed spaces. Two narrow corridors led towards the bedroom and kitchen, while the bathroom occupied the centre. As a result, the principal living areas were compressed into a narrow zone with limited access to natural light.

 

 

Removing the internal divisions

The renovation began with the removal of all internal partitions. This process revealed the underlying geometry of the apartment and created the conditions for a continuous interior.

Instead of replacing the former layout with another arrangement of enclosed rooms, the architects organized the different functions through bespoke joinery and movable partitions. These elements define areas for living, sleeping, working and storage without interrupting the overall continuity of the plan.

The apartment can therefore be perceived as a single space or divided into more private zones. Its organization changes according to the time of day and the needs of its occupants.

 

Flexible boundaries of privacy

Despite the limited floor area, the programme required two bedrooms alongside the other functions of a complete residence. This condition led the architects to reconsider privacy as a changing spatial relationship rather than a fixed boundary.

The principal bedroom operates as an extension of the living room. A sequence of wardrobes stands between the two areas, providing storage while acting as a series of visual filters.

The joinery limits direct views without creating the sense of a fully enclosed room. Consequently, the bedroom remains connected to the broader interior while retaining a measured degree of separation.

 

A room that appears when needed

On the opposite side of the plan, a second flexible area can function as a dining room, home office or additional bedroom.

A continuous system of bespoke joinery incorporates storage, a fold-down desk and a retractable bed. When these elements remain closed, the room almost disappears and becomes part of the open interior.

Sliding partitions can isolate the area when privacy is required. The apartment thus gains an autonomous second bedroom without permanently surrendering space to a function that may only be needed occasionally.

This approach allows the same area to accommodate several patterns of use. The room appears when required and recedes once its temporary function has ended.

 

The kitchen as a social centre

The new kitchen occupies the centre of the plan, replacing the former bathroom. Its main functions are organized around a large island connected directly with the living and dining areas.

The island faces the existing fireplace and becomes a shared point within the residence. Cooking, conversation and everyday activity can develop around the same central element.

Relocating the kitchen also transforms the circulation. Instead of being reached through a narrow corridor, it now forms part of the continuous living environment and establishes direct relationships with the surrounding uses.

 

A nearly monochromatic interior

The material palette remains restrained and almost monochromatic. Microcement extends across the floors, walls and doors, reducing visual interruptions between surfaces.

This continuous treatment reinforces the unity of the interior. At the same time, it allows the original construction, curved geometry and architectural logic of the apartment building to remain legible.

The subdued material background gives greater emphasis to the changing arrangement of doors, partitions and integrated furniture. Spatial transformation, rather than applied decoration, becomes the defining feature of the project.

Kifisia Apartment ultimately proposes a compact interior without permanently assigned rooms. Areas can open, close or change function, allowing spatial continuity and privacy to coexist within the same domestic environment.

Mold Architects was founded in 2011 by Iliana Kerestetzi, an architect who studied in Athens and New York. Based in Athens and Serifos, the award-winning practice works across the full spectrum of design, extending beyond the architecture of buildings. Regardless of scale or programme, its projects maintain the same investigative approach, seeking clear and precisely targeted responses.

 

S.M.: You belong to a generation of architectural practices that emerged during the financial crisis, maintaining a base in Serifos alongside a second office in Athens. How did you navigate this condition, and how did you use it to your advantage almost a decade later?

I.K.: In 2013, I had the good fortune to build my first project, a vacation home in Serifos. During the years that followed, the proposals we received mainly concerned designs intended for off-plan property sales.

That model ultimately failed to bear fruit, and most of those projects were never built. Nevertheless, during a very difficult period, we were able to practise architecture, evolve and delve more deeply into the subject of our work. We developed a clear direction and a conscious approach to selecting projects at a time when, in reality, there was no luxury of choice.

With patience and optimism, we overcame that obstacle. Much later, we are preparing to see many more of our projects realized.

 

 

S.M.: Designing vacation housing requires architects to reconcile demands for “authenticity” and belonging to a particular “place” with residents’ desire for amenities associated with a different way of life. How do you maintain this balance in your projects?

I.K.: I understand the quotation marks around the word “authenticity,” and I assume you are referring to an architecture that tends to reproduce “traditional” structures, materials and construction techniques. It does so to approach the idea of the old, the pure and the traditional, which is, of course, an established tourism product.

The task, however, is clearly more difficult than uncritical reproduction. We belong to the present, with everything that entails—with increasingly complex needs, but also with constantly evolving tools and means—and we are not nostalgic for the past.

Yet we also belong to the place. Whether considered through its geomorphology or its history, the place is the starting point of our thinking, the subject of our analysis and the reservoir from which we draw our ideas. These are simple and clear ideas, with reason and substance, capable of weaving the thread that connects us with the place, its past, its present and its future.

 

 

S.M.: Having worked on many small-scale projects, how did you approach the transition to large hotel developments? What can be retained, and what is lost from your architectural approach when the scale changes?

I.K.: Our approach to architecture is certainly not affected by the size of a project, although the requirements may differ.

One issue that we clearly do not encounter in a residence is the accommodation of extensive back-of-house infrastructure without disturbing the immediacy of the relationship between the user and the landscape that we seek to establish. It is a machine in constant motion that must operate silently while providing every necessary service.

Another challenge is finding ways to introduce the idea of the small into a larger scale. This may be achieved by minimizing the building footprint. Alternatively, the design can prevent the building’s total volume from being perceived from any of its individual parts.

Once uninterrupted visual contact is removed, the scale immediately diminishes. The architecture consequently becomes more approachable and humane.

 

Read the full interview in ek issue 247 | May 2020.

The seventh edition of Material Matters, organized by ek magazine, was successfully held on 16 June at the Banquet Hall of Megaron the Athens Concert Hall. Dedicated to the design and construction of architectural façades, Material Matters Vol. 7: Facades — Metal, Wood, Glass & Cladding brought together leading architectural practices to reflect on the façade as a technical, spatial, material and cultural interface.

The event was moderated by architects Ariadni Vozani, Professor at the National Technical University of Athens and Editor-in-Chief of ek magazine, and Stavros Martinos, member of the magazine’s editorial team. Invited speakers were asked to present two of their own projects and one work by another architect, through their own critical lens, within a ten-minute format.

The evening opened with Natassa Lianou and Ermis Chalvatzis of LC Architects, who presented the projects Orbit and Antenna Group at the level of detailed design, while pointing to the potential of glass-fibre reinforced concrete in contemporary façade design. Nikolas Travasaros of Divercity Architects then focused on the relationship between visibility and bodily movement, through an office building on Syngrou Avenue and the new Mitsis N’U Piraeus Port hotel, using the Institut du Monde Arabe by Ateliers Jean Nouvel as a reference.

Matilda Beraha of Arid offered a reflective exploration of the façade as boundary, presenting the Veil building in Kypseli and a shipping company headquarters on Alimou Avenue, while drawing parallels with related works in New York and Paris. Dimitra Katsota of Buerger Katsota Architects highlighted the façade as part of the public realm through the work of Alison and Peter Smithson, before bringing this line of thinking into the design of the new University of Nicosia facilities at Ellinikon and an office building nearing completion on Kifisias Avenue.

Anargyros Mougiakos of ISV Architects addressed the façade as a sculptural construction composed of successive standardized elements, drawing on examples from 1950s American modernism and two corresponding applications in specialized buildings in Athens. Fotini Gouveli and Niki Katsaragaki of A&S Architects brought the importance of the “fifth façade” to the fore, through an office building on Pireos Street and Education City in Doha, using COBE Architects’ The Silo in Copenhagen as their reference project.

Eraclis Papachristou of Eraclis Papachristou Architects discussed the challenges of designing tall buildings through two recent projects in Limassol, focusing on the importance of views — but also of a broader architectural vision — in relation to tactility and material presence. Ivy Nanopoulou and Eri Nikoloudi of TPA – Thymio Papayannis and Associates selected two projects separated by almost sixty years: the OSE Building on Karolou Street and the “Odysseas” Hellenic Maritime Heritage Park, currently under construction in Faliro Bay. Their presentation traced the continuity of the practice’s thinking through a creative reading of place, landscape and history, with Frank Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris serving as their reference building.

Loukas Bobotis of Bobotis+Bobotis Architects presented his private residence in Athens and the One Floreasca complex in Bucharest, taking as a point of reference the renovation of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome.

The evening concluded with the keynote lecture by Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas and Massimiliano Fuksas, who presented an impressive panorama of their work, ranging from interior design to large-scale building complexes and public spaces. The participation of the internationally acclaimed Studio Fuksas gave this year’s edition particular weight, opening a direct dialogue with the Greek architectural community and confirming the high quality of the presentations that define the Material Matters series.

The event was held under the auspices of the Hellenic-Italian Chamber of Commerce of Athens, the Hellenic-Italian Chamber of Commerce of Thessaloniki, and the Hellenic Institute of Architecture. Material Matters Vol. 7 was honoured by the presence of the Ambassador of Italy to Greece, H.E. Paolo Cuculi.

Platinum Sponsor: Elval Colour
Gold Sponsor: F|Nous
Silver Sponsor: Voutsadakis
Bronze Sponsor: E-dreams
Stage Design Sponsor: Rouchotas
Cocktail Event Sponsor: Dipo-Interwood
Sponsors: AkzoNobel, Alumil, Etem, Europa, Ilicon, Mipeco, Nolte Kitchens, VasGlass, Vitex
Supporters: Anegersi, Diodos, Domiki Papanikolaou, Gratalum, Koligas Wood Essence, Knauf, Saint-Gobain Glass, Textures & Tiles
Hospitality Sponsors: Electra Rhythm Athens, Inn Athens
Wine Sponsor: Zacharias Winery

 

 

A Residential Building of Curved Geometry in Athens

Located in the northern suburbs of Athens, Chiven by The Hive Architects is a residential building that balances architectural precision with the fluidity of form. Through clean geometries and curved surfaces that appear shaped by wind and light, the project develops as a dynamic composition of volumes, avoiding static expression and encouraging the continuous movement of the gaze.

The building, with a total area of 770 sq.m., is expected to be completed in 2028. Its architectural language is defined by strong horizontal lines and soft, curved envelopes that wrap around the interior spaces, shaping both the façade and the experience of inhabitation.

Horizontal Layers and Curved Envelopes

The main architectural gesture is expressed through successive horizontal layers and curved edges that soften the building’s volume. These curves are not treated as formal decoration, but as spatial devices: they guide movement, frame views and produce a changing play of light and shadow across the façades.

As the sun moves throughout the day, the building’s surfaces respond through reflections, shadows and shifts in depth. The result is a residential composition that changes gradually over time, giving the building a sense of movement despite its compact urban presence.

 

Interior and Exterior in Continuity

Particular emphasis is placed on the relationship between interior and exterior space. Transparent railings reduce the sense of boundary, allowing light to penetrate deeper into the building and reinforcing the visual continuity between living areas, balconies and the surrounding environment.

Large balconies extend the apartments outward, offering generous outdoor living areas. The building is organized as a vertical sequence of private and semi-open spaces, where each level maintains its autonomy while contributing to the overall continuity of the composition.

Water, Light and Bioclimatic Character

Elevated pools and water elements operate as mirrors of the sky, enhancing a sense of lightness, calm and suspension. Water becomes a key compositional element, contributing to the atmosphere of the project and reinforcing its bioclimatic character.

The interplay between water, light and curved surfaces gives the building a softer presence. Instead of relying on mass and opacity, the project works through reflections, filtered light and the modulation of outdoor thresholds.

 

 

Earthy Materiality and Planted Terraces

The material palette remains discreet, based on earthy tones where textured surfaces meet smoother finishes. This controlled material language supports the building’s formal clarity, while giving depth and warmth to its curved geometry.

Attention to detail is expressed in the curved endings of the slabs, the continuity of the horizontal lines and the integration of planting. Greenery softens the geometry and introduces the idea of elevated gardens across the upper levels, bringing natural elements into the vertical development of the building.

A Roof Terrace as an Elevated Place of Retreat

The composition develops vertically through successive levels that ensure privacy while maintaining visual continuity. At the top, the building is crowned by a generous roof terrace, conceived as an elevated place for relaxation.

Openings filter the light and create focused visual escapes, transforming the roof into a protected outdoor space. In this way, the building extends the idea of residence beyond the apartment itself, proposing a layered experience of domestic life.

 

 

Contemporary Urban Living

Chiven reconsiders contemporary residential architecture through a balance of simplicity, technology and natural elements. The project does not seek to impose itself on its surroundings, but to enter into dialogue with them through form, light, water and planting.

The result is a residential proposal where architecture becomes both sensory and functional: a building shaped by movement, material restraint and the search for a more fluid way of living in the city.

A Former Warehouse Transformed into a Wellness Space

In Metaxourgeio, Athens, Hekate Fitness Club by Studio Maneo transforms a former warehouse into a bright and calm wellness space. The project is guided by the architectural idea of disconnecting from the intensity of the city, creating an interior where exercise, safety and sensory decompression are brought together.

Although the owner comes from the world of sports, the ambition was not to create a conventional gym. The design instead seeks to shape a space that first conveys a sense of personal safety and respect for each visitor’s identity, while offering a moment of retreat from the dense rhythm and visual noise of the city center.

A Space of Disconnection from the City

The project approaches wellness as a broader physical and mental experience. The goal was for visitors to feel closer to nature, but also to their own physical and spiritual condition. In this sense, the interior is conceived less as a place of performance and more as a protective environment for movement, concentration and recovery.

This atmosphere is developed through natural materials, clean geometries and light as a primary design tool. Wood cladding, terracotta tones and earthy shades create a calm setting, where the balance between light and shadow becomes part of the spatial experience.

 

 

Natural Materials and Soft Opacity

The façade is treated with milky glass, establishing a balance between light diffusion and soft opacity. This gesture protects the interior from direct visual exposure while allowing light to enter gently, forming a secure and atmospheric environment for exercise.

Inside, the 140 sq.m. space is organized across two levels. The ground floor hosts the reception and workout areas, while the upper level contains support functions, including changing rooms and washrooms. The plan is structured through the idea of a “box within a box,” clearly defining uses without fragmenting the overall atmosphere.

The “Box Within a Box” and the Martial Arts Area

The martial arts area is defined by wooden wall panels, distinguishing it from the rest of the program and reinforcing the perception of an inner volume nested within the larger space. This architectural strategy gives the project clarity and depth, while preserving a sense of continuity between the different functions.

The reception is also conceived as a wooden box-like structure. Its clostra surface visually connects it with the rear martial arts area, allowing the idea of nested spaces to be repeated across the interior through material and rhythm.

 

 

Linear Skylights and the Stair as a Light Filter

Two key elements define the lighting qualities of the project: the linear skylights and the central staircase leading to the secondary level. The skylights allow natural light to enter softly throughout the day, gradually transforming the atmosphere of the interior as time passes.

The staircase is framed by a tall freestanding wall, which acts as a spatial filter between the two main uses. A vertical slit in the middle of the wall is fitted with clostra panels, creating shifting effects of light and shadow, opacity and transparency.

Indoor Planting as a Transitional Gesture

As visitors move through the space, they encounter indoor plants placed within built-in planting beds. This gesture introduces nature into the interior not as decoration, but as a transitional filter.

The planting supports decompression both upon entering from the intensity of the city and when leaving after physical exercise. Through this sequence, Hekate Fitness Club shapes wellness as an experience that begins before training and continues after it, connecting body, light, material and atmosphere.

A Compact Nail Studio in Pangrati

Located in Pangrati, Nailon Room by So Far Studio is a neighborhood nail studio developed within a compact space of just 20 sq.m. Rather than treating the limited area as a restriction, the project is conceived as a single atmospheric environment, where light, texture and spatial continuity define the experience of the interior.

The design focuses on softness and intimacy, creating a quiet pause within the rhythm of the city. Upon entry, the space is immediately shaped by a suspended textile installation at ceiling level, which introduces a sense of lightness and enclosure without reducing the clarity of the room.

A Suspended Textile Installation as Spatial Device

The translucent textile surface acts simultaneously as a light filter and a spatial device. It diffuses illumination across the interior, softening the atmosphere and transforming the perception of the room into something quieter, more immersive and almost scenographic.

This ceiling intervention becomes the defining element of the project. It gives the compact plan a sense of depth and continuity, while establishing an immediately recognizable identity for the studio.

Materials, Reflections and Pastel Tonalities

A restrained palette of cement plaster, plywood surfaces and pastel pistachio-toned details establishes a calm architectural language rooted in texture and tactility. Clean geometries and carefully balanced proportions reinforce the clarity of the interior, allowing the few material gestures to carry the atmosphere of the space.

Subtle reflections and layered transparencies continuously shift the perception of depth throughout the day. A large mirror positioned along the main axis visually expands the room, multiplying the presence of the textile installation and dissolving the physical limits of the compact plan.

A Linear Bar and Integrated Bench

The spatial organization is structured around a long linear bar element, which functions simultaneously as reception desk, manicure station and social threshold. This element concentrates activity and gives the small interior a clear functional order.

Opposite, a continuous built-in bench accommodates the waiting area, product display and pedicure station within a single integrated gesture. In this way, the different functions of the nail studio coexist without fragmenting the space.

Atmosphere Over Visual Excess

Rather than prioritizing capacity or visual excess, Nailon Room focuses on atmosphere, softness and sensory experience. Through light diffusion, muted tonalities and material continuity, the interior momentarily detaches visitors from the intensity of the city.

The result is an intimate and immersive environment, gently suspended between function and scenography. Within just 20 sq.m., the project creates a complete interior world defined by restraint, clarity and atmospheric precision.

A Demanding Transformation in Kolonaki

In the heart of Kolonaki, Kokosalaki Architecture renovates a 170 sq.m. apartment, shaping a contemporary urban residence around art, objects, textures and refined domestic atmosphere. The project, originally titled Refined Luxury, is set within a 1950s apartment building in central Athens and responds to the particular character of the existing shell.

The renovation was guided by the owner’s important personal art collection and distinct vision of modern luxury. The aim was to create a calmer, cleaner and more contemporary environment, without sacrificing the warmth, atmosphere and personality of the home.

Art, Objects and Contemporary Urban Living

The apartment is organized as a layered interior in which art is not treated as a later addition, but as an active part of the overall atmosphere. Works of art, objects and textures are integrated into a composition that allows the residence to remain personal while retaining a sense of order and clarity.

Through this approach, contemporary urban living is understood not as a neutral background, but as a daily experience with character. Surfaces, furniture, lighting and details are brought together to support intimacy, privacy and the presence of art in everyday life.

 

Working Within the Existing Shell

As is often the case with the renovation of 1950s apartment buildings in central Athens, the project involved a series of technical and construction challenges: outdated infrastructure, restricted site access, complex coordination requirements and the constant need to balance contemporary intervention with the character of the existing shell.

These limitations were absorbed into the design process in a controlled way. The new architectural language does not impose itself on the existing apartment, but develops through it, allowing the residence to acquire a more contemporary identity while preserving its memory and scale.

Light, Contrast and Atmosphere

From the bright, sun-filled living areas to the intentionally darker and more atmospheric WC, the apartment unfolds through contrast. Softness is set against structure, natural textures against refined detailing, openness against intimacy.

These contrasts do not operate as conflicts, but as complementary conditions that give the residence depth, rhythm and internal balance. The result is a domestic interior that is calm, composed and quietly expressive.

Understated Luxury and Personal Character

Luxury is approached through restraint rather than excess. The sense of quality emerges from precise choices, the relationship between materials, the atmosphere of the spaces and the way the apartment supports daily life.

Apartment Renovation in Kolonaki by Kokosalaki Architecture forms a home that feels both contemporary and deeply personal. Art, texture and contemporary urban living coexist in balance, shaping a residence of understated luxury in the center of Athens.

The second edition of Spain is in Athens took place at the Benaki Museum on Pireos Street, under the thematic title The Value of Design in Hospitality. The event forms part of Spain is in, ICEX’s international campaign for the promotion of Spanish design abroad.

Following an invitation by the Embassy of Spain in Athens and ICEX, ek magazine undertook, for the second consecutive year, the overall curation and production of the event in Greece. This included shaping the event program, selecting the theme and venue, and coordinating the participation of companies, speakers, industry professionals and invited guests.

Spain is in Athens Vol. 2 was held as a closed, invitation-only event, bringing together selected representatives from the fields of architecture, design, hospitality and real estate development. The evening highlighted the ways in which design moves from concept to the realized hospitality experience.

The event opened with a welcome address by the Ambassador of Spain, H.E. Jorge Domecq, followed by a keynote lecture by Spanish designer Héctor Serrano, who approached design as a tool for creating emotional connections, clarity, usability and surprise.

The keynote was followed by the panel discussion “From Design to Delivery: How does design actually translate into a built hospitality project?”, moderated by Stavros Martinos from ek magazine. The panel featured Dimitris Karampatakis, Lead Architect at K-Studio; Evgenios Vassilikos, President of the Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association; Penny Zaglaridou, Co-Founder of Wealthia Hospitality; and Panagiotis Kapetanakos, Chief Asset Management Officer at Dimand S.A.

The discussion approached hotel design not as image or decoration, but as a complex process shaped by architecture, investment planning, operations, construction, maintenance, brand identity and the long-term value of the project.

Following the panel, the participating companies — Actiu, Agora Fabrics, Bathco, Gandiablasco, Hisbalit, Ondarreta, Oset and Punt — presented solutions for hotels, contract projects and interiors, ranging from furniture, fabrics and outdoor equipment to bathroom products, mosaics, ceramic surfaces and bespoke applications. The evening continued and concluded with networking, visits to the stands, finger food and wine.

Spain is in Athens serves as a platform for dialogue and networking, bringing leading Spanish design companies into contact with the Greek architecture, hospitality and construction markets, while highlighting the potential for collaboration between the two countries.

 

Japanese Aesthetics in Contemporary Athens

The Darya J Hotel is a contemporary hospitality destination in Athens, where the principles of Japanese aesthetics are translated into a refined architectural experience. Rooted in ideas of simplicity, balance, and material authenticity, the project establishes an atmosphere of calm and understated luxury within the dense urban fabric of the city.

Shared Spaces, Courtyard and Rooftop

The shared spaces are organized around a sense of continuity and flow, connecting the lobby, bar, and breakfast area with a landscaped outdoor courtyard featuring planting and a swimming pool. On the mezzanine level, flexible co-working spaces are introduced, while the rooftop hosts a bar with a jacuzzi, offering panoramic views over Athens.

Rooms, Suites and Spatial Transitions

Across five floors, the hotel accommodates 34 rooms, including four suites. The spatial organization is defined by clarity of form and fluid transitions between functions. In selected rooms, elevated sleeping platforms and partition elements inspired by traditional Japanese noren curtains create a contemporary interpretation of Japanese domestic space.

Material Authenticity and Crafted Details

Materiality plays a central role in the design language. Warm cherry-toned timber, Volakas and Cretan marble, natural textures, and bespoke surface treatments compose interiors with a strong tactile presence and timeless character. Custom lighting elements, flush details, and carefully crafted junctions reinforce a sense of harmony and precision throughout.

A Shoji-Inspired Façade

The architectural identity of the building is expressed primarily through its reimagined façade, inspired by traditional Japanese shoji screens. Vertical metal fins and perforated metal elements act as filters of light and privacy, introducing depth, rhythm, and a constantly shifting perception of the building envelope. At night, linear architectural lighting accentuates the geometry of the composition, strengthening the building’s presence within the urban landscape.

Calmness, Material Sensitivity and Atmosphere

The Darya J Hotel approaches hospitality as an experience defined by calmness, material sensitivity, and carefully composed atmosphere, where Japanese philosophy meets contemporary Athens.

A Top-Floor Apartment Reopened to Light

In Vouliagmeni, Athens, D Flat by Virginia Malami transforms a top-floor apartment open on three sides into a clearer and more luminous domestic interior. In the existing layout, the living areas were oriented in a single direction, leaving the depth of the apartment underlit. The renovation opens the plan from end to end, allowing daylight to travel the full 14.5 metres of the interior from morning to evening.

The project establishes a renewed relationship between active shared spaces and quieter private rooms. Rather than treating the apartment as a sequence of separate rooms, the redesign introduces a continuous spatial order, balancing openness, privacy and the changing presence of light throughout the day.

Three Longitudinal Zones

The plan is organized into three longitudinal zones: a living zone, a central service and infrastructure zone, and a sleeping zone beyond. This division creates a contrast of tempo and atmosphere. The common rooms remain open and flexible, designed to host everyday life in different forms, while the bedrooms are more serene and contained.

The middle band becomes the threshold between these two conditions. It gives thickness to the plan, defines transitions and holds the more technical parts of the apartment, allowing the living areas and bedrooms to retain a sense of calm and clarity.

An Oak Spine for Domestic Infrastructure

At the center of the project is a continuous oak construction that runs along the length of the apartment. It is both furniture and space, a precise architectural element that gathers almost everything newly introduced by the renovation into one continuous system.

The oak spine contains the kitchen, entry coat storage, concealed bedroom doors, a utility cabinet with washing machine, WC, bookshelf and media cabinet. By consolidating these functions, the rest of the plan remains open and uncluttered. A continuous linear light follows the length of the element, turning it after dark into the apartment’s protagonist: an illuminated spine that gives the new program a single, unmistakable presence.

Material Continuity Through Marble and Oak

The material strategy is based on continuity rather than replacement. The existing beige Ioannina marble was preserved as a datum, while new oak was introduced in dialogue with the apartment’s earlier wood presence.

Together, marble and oak create a measured rhythm along the plan through pattern, joints and repetition. Red-and-white striped awnings were also reintroduced, echoing the original elements and carrying their graphic presence into the renewed apartment.

Reuse and Spatial Memory

Reuse forms an integral part of the project’s approach to sustainability and to the respect of what was already there. Where new marble was required in the kitchen after removing parquet, the material was sourced from the demolition rubble of a nearby renovation.

This decision reduces waste while extending the life of an existing material by giving it a new role within the apartment. The renovation therefore works not only with new elements, but also with fragments of material memory that are absorbed into the project’s contemporary organization.

Greek Atmosphere and Swiss Precision

D Flat also reflects the architect’s own trajectory. Raised within a Greek cultural context, with its particular relationship to light, materials and everyday outdoor living, and architecturally formed in Switzerland, where precision and functional clarity are fundamental, the project brings these two registers together without hierarchy.

Local atmosphere and familiar domestic cues are paired with a Swiss-inflected discipline of organization, concentrated infrastructure and concealed transitions. The result is an apartment that feels calm and usable, while retaining a strong relationship to its setting and history.

New Life for an Inherited Apartment

The renovation also acknowledges the personal history of the apartment, which is set within a structure originally built by the architect’s father. Its existing character and spatial memory are treated as material to be worked with, sharpened and carried forward rather than replaced.

Ultimately, D Flat is a project of alignment: plan with sun, new work with existing matter, and contemporary life with inherited character. Through a continuous oak spine, preserved marble and carefully organized light, the apartment is transformed into a calm and precise domestic interior.

The first phase of the OAKA basketball arena renovation combines essential structural and technical upgrades with new hospitality, media and spectator facilities, while preserving the identity of the existing sports landmark.

 

 

The renovation of PAO BC Arena transformed the indoor basketball stadium at OAKA into the home venue of Panathinaikos BC. The intervention covered more than 50,000m² and combined the maintenance of the existing building with extensive functional, aesthetic and energy upgrades.

The core conversion was delivered within 75 days, while the wider design-and-construction process of the first phase was completed within four months. The accelerated programme required close coordination among the designers, project-management team, consultants and contractors.

Rather than replacing the identity of the existing arena, the project sought to clarify its structural character and adapt its infrastructure to contemporary requirements.

Infrastructure before image

The first stage addressed fundamental technical issues that had remained unresolved for an extended period. Works included waterproofing, the assessment and reinforcement of the roof space frame, hydraulic systems and the electricity supply network.

These interventions were necessary for the building’s safe and reliable operation. They also established the technical foundation for the new public, hospitality and athletic programmes introduced inside the arena.

The renovation consequently approached modernization as more than a visual transformation. Hidden infrastructure and structural performance were treated as equally important as the redesigned spectator areas.

 

New spaces for spectators and operations

The second level of intervention concerned the public and operational interiors. Circulation areas, sanitary facilities and food-and-beverage spaces were reorganized, while retail functions and areas for children’s activities were added.

New offices and press facilities support the daily operation of the venue. The Press Entrance, Gate 10 entrance and associated sanitary areas were designed by Decathlon in collaboration with Eva Lantzouni.

The hospitality programme includes a new VIP Entrance and VIP Lounge by Markos Vouzounerakis / RICHE. Dark surfaces, timber, marble and controlled lighting establish a more concentrated atmosphere within these spaces.

Sixteen suites designed by K-Division introduce smaller, private viewing environments within the large arena. Their interiors combine framed views of the court with integrated seating, storage and hospitality functions.

A digitally adaptable playing surface

The central court was upgraded through the installation of an interactive glass sports floor. Its digital surface allows graphics, markings and visual content to change according to the requirements of a game or event.

New audiovisual systems extend this transformation beyond the playing surface. Screens, sound and lighting reinforce the atmosphere of the arena and allow the venue to support a broader range of sporting and entertainment programmes.

The intervention also reorganized the visual identity of the seating bowl. Green seating, large digital displays and suspended banners connect the new technical infrastructure with the history and identity of Panathinaikos BC.

 

Lighting and external identity

The energy upgrade included the replacement of the existing lighting system. New functional lighting was introduced throughout the interior, alongside accent and atmospheric lighting in selected public and hospitality areas.

The separation of the building’s different levels was clarified, while additional sanitary facilities supported the updated circulation and spectator programme.

The external façades received a revised colour palette. The intention was to respect the form of the original arena while signalling its new identity and use.

The public space northeast of the building was also redesigned. Improvements to functional, accent and atmospheric lighting extend the intervention beyond the enclosed arena and reinforce its presence within the wider OAKA complex.

Preserving a public sports landmark

The project addresses the renovation of a major sports building as a process of adaptation rather than replacement. New systems and programmes are inserted within the existing structural framework, whose scale and architectural character remain legible.

At the time of the original publication, a second phase had been designed to include upgraded training courts, changing rooms and physiotherapy facilities. Additional offices, an outdoor café, a VIP restaurant, five further suites and a Panathinaikos museum were also planned.

These proposals should be understood within the December 2024 publication context. Their subsequent construction status requires separate confirmation.

The completed first phase demonstrates how the existing public sports-building stock can be renewed through coordinated architectural, technical and operational interventions. Its approach avoids an autonomous new image and instead builds on the principles and material presence of the inherited shell.

 

The project was first published in print in ek magazine 293 | December 2024, a monthly issue by ek Architectural Publications.

A Spanish Perspective on Contemporary Architecture & Design

In a groundbreaking initiative for Greece, ek magazine was selected by the Spanish Embassy in Athens and ICEX (Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior) to oversee the complete curation of “Shaping Spaces: A Spanish Perspective on Contemporary Architecture & Design”.

Organized under the umbrella of “Spain is in”—an international campaign by ICEX promoting Spanish interior design worldwide—the event took place on June 4th at Aigli Zappeion. It offered a unique opportunity for invited architects to engage directly with 14 leading Spanish companies specializing in furniture, lighting, tiles, textiles, and other interior design elements.

Moving beyond the framework of a conventional trade show, ek magazine implemented a carefully curated, invitation-only format. The event combined product showcases with a keynote lecture, focused presentations, and a relaxed networking cocktail in an informal, creative atmosphere.

The evening opened with a welcome address from Jorge Domecq Fernández, Ambassador of Spain to Greece, who highlighted the significance of such outreach initiatives for professionals in both countries.

At the heart of the program was a lecture by renowned Spanish architect Fran Silvestre, who presented completed projects alongside the design philosophy of his firm—a philosophy that merges precision in design with technological innovation to create a continuous spatial experience. Silvestre emphasized clarity, simplicity, and dialogue as core elements of his architectural language, shaping both the aesthetics and structure of his work.

 

 

The lecture was followed by three panel discussions featuring representatives of the participating companies. Each panel focused on a distinct sector, with presentations on product identity and interactive discussions moderated by Stavros Martinos, member of the ek magazine editorial team.

The first panel, dedicated to residential spaces, included Jan Joncheere (LuxCambra), Juan de Dios Pérez Ramos (OgoFurniture), Clara Altaba (RS Barcelona), and Marcos Rioseco Castroa (a·emotional light).

The second panel explored contemporary workspaces, featuring Ivan Gimenez Soler (EcoCero), Santos De Arpe (Actiu), Veronique de Keyser (Viccarbe), and Irati Diez Olazabal (Akaba).

The third panel, focused on hospitality design, brought together José Manuel Basso (esPattio), Sheila Maestre-Arenas (Naturtex), Gerard Gonzalez Bezos (Ramon Soler), Guillaume Thomas (Vertisol), and Sandro Tothill (LZF Lamps).

More than 120 distinguished architects, interior designers, and developers attended the event. After the presentations, they had the opportunity to explore the exhibits and engage in direct dialogue with company representatives about products and projects of interest.

  

Gold Sponsor: Marmyk Iliopoulos

Silver Sponsor: GEBERIT

Sponsors: Apticon,  el greco,  Halo,  Textures and Tiles,  Vitex

Supporters: Dionyssomarble,  Furniture Gallery,  HUB Lighting & Innovation by Kafkas,  Hatzaki Marbles,  John Papagiannoulis Bros,  Kolligas Wood Essence,  Pnevmatikos Marble,  Prodea,  Xalkis sa

Cocktail Event Sponsor: Kanelli

Media Sponsor: NEWS247

 

The 6th architectural event of the “Material Matters“ series, organized by ek magazine, will take place on Friday, May 16th, at the Athens Concert Hall, Banquet Hall.

The event is sponsored by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture.

The event is fully booked

The goal of the Material Matters events is to highlight the significance of a range of contemporary and traditional materials and their applications in architecture, through the theoretical approaches and works of Greek architects. Based on the history of each material and its construction or expressive characteristics, the presentations focus on its potential use in contemporary terms, as shaped by economic and technological developments.

Material Matters Vol.6 is dedicated to a family of materials with enduring importance for Greek architecture: Marble and Stone.
The ancient Greeks highlighted the timeless beauty and durability of marble, creating world-renowned monuments. The use of the vast variety of Greek marbles, as well as other local stones, contributed to the creation of a unique architectural identity that reflects the relationship with the natural environment, particularly in traditional architecture.

In the modern era, marble and stones continue to add prestige, aesthetics, and authenticity to both small and large-scale projects.
Ten speakers from the fields of architecture and design will analyze the role of marble and stones in architecture, both in their own works and in selected works by other architects, through engaging 10-minute presentations.

 

Speakers:

– Dimitris Tsigos | Omniview Design
– Stella Pieri | Pieris architects
– Niki and Zoi Moskofoglou | On entropy
– Dionysis Sotovikis | Workshop Dionisis Sotovikis
– Labrini Lyrou | Desypri-Misiaris Architecture
– Eleni Tsigarida | Etsi Architects
– Vangelis Bonios | Studio Bonarchi
– Natasha Deliyianni – Yiorgos Spiridonos | React Architects
– Panos Iliopoulos | Board Member of the Marble Businesses Association
– Giannis Giannoutsos | Assistant Professor, NTUA

 

Gold Sponsor: Marmyk Iliopoulos

Silver Sponsor: GEBERIT

Sponsors: Apticon,  el greco,  Halo,  Textures and Tiles,  Vitex

Supporters: Dionyssomarble,  Furniture Gallery,  HUB Lighting & Innovation by Kafkas,  Hatzaki Marbles,  John Papagiannoulis Bros,  Kolligas Wood Essence,  Pnevmatikos Marble,  Prodea,  Xalkis sa

Cocktail Event Sponsor: Kanelli

Media Sponsor: NEWS247

 

The event is fully booked

Architectural Event

The honorary event held at the bustling “Lighthouse” of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) on December 13th, organized by ek magazine under the auspices of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, was met with resounding success. The event was masterfully coordinated by architects Ariadne Vozani, Professor at NTUA and Editorial Director of ek magazine, and Stavros Martinos, a Member of the magazine’s Editorial Team.

Maria Kokkinou and Andreas Kourkoulas, who established their architectural practice in 1987 upon their return to Athens from London, are widely regarded as two of the most significant architects of their generation. Their extensive body of work spans nearly all building categories and scales. Renowned for introducing innovative ideas to Greek architecture, they advocate for designs that are more seamlessly integrated into the urban fabric, utilizing advanced materials and construction techniques. Their contributions have transformed Greece’s urban and suburban landscapes with exceptional public and private spaces. Notable projects include the Generali offices in Maroussi, the Benaki Museum on Piraeus Street, the Shop and Trade multi-use building in Tavros, and the Cosmote headquarters in Mesogeia.

With a dynamic trajectory spanning over 35 years as well as Andreas Kourkoulas’s tenure as a professor at the School of Architecture at NTUA, the office Kokkinou-Kourkoulas Architects and Partners continues to shape the contemporary architectural landscape of Greece with the exceptional quality of its projects. The significance of this remarkable journey, along with its lesser-known personal dimensions, was illuminated during the event by ten distinguished collaborators of the firm from both academic and professional circles.

The first speaker, Yannis Peponis, Professor of Architecture at Georgia Tech, began with a reference to Andreas Kourkoulas’s PhD thesis at UCL, using it as a foundation to explore an office design methodology that links buildings to their urban context. He illustrated this approach through three built projects in Athens, where the design of their entrances serves as a key tool for understanding a broader architectural philosophy.

Nicolas Travasaros, founder of Divercity Architects, shared his experience as a young architect working in the office of Maria Kokkinou and Andreas Kourkoulas. He reflected on the invaluable skills he acquired there, which prepared him to take on equally complex and demanding architectural projects in his own career.

Ricky Burdett, Professor at the London School of Economics, shared a personal account of Maria Kokkinou and Andreas Kourkoulas’s time in London, when they studied together under the pioneering architect Bill Hillier. He also reflected on the enduring friendship they built in the years that followed.

Elli Pagalou, landscape architect, shared her perspective on her productive collaborations with Maria Kokkinou and Andreas Kourkoulas. These partnerships, which evolved into lasting professional relationships, consistently provided opportunities for dynamic and creative exchanges.

Elias Konstantopoulos, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Architecture at the University of Patras and President of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, contextualized the architects’ work within the broader theoretical explorations of their generation on a global scale. Drawing from Bill Hillier’s research on the social dimension of space and the general critique of modernism, he highlighted how these ideas were applied in the built and conceptual projects that Kokkinou and Kourkoulas developed upon their return to Greece.

Zisis Kotzias, Professor at the Department of Architecture at the University of Thessaly, reflected on his personal connection with the architects, posing thought-provoking questions about the design process. He examined the concepts that keep their architectural works “open,” and, in some ways, deliberately “incomplete,” allowing for ongoing interpretation and evolution.

Dimitris Andriopoulos, Managing Director of Dimand, a real estate development company with which Kokkinou and Kourkoulas have had a long-standing and successful collaboration, offered his insights into the role of all contributors in achieving projects of lasting impact and originality.

Giorgos Mitroulias, Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture at the University of Thessaly and a member of the architectural firm AREA, offered a fresh perspective on the work of Maria Kokkinou and Andreas Kourkoulas. Speaking as a younger architect, he explored his personal interpretations of their projects and highlighted the tools of creative dialogue, presenting an intriguing audio recording of one such discussion as it unfolded in real time.

Architect Dimitris Korres reflected on his long-standing relationship with Maria Kokkinou and Andreas Kourkoulas, which began during their student years at the National Technical University of Athens. He also recounted their collaborations over the years, especially when architectural ideas required the innovative problem-solving of an engineer-inventor.

The event concluded in a distinctive manner with Katerina Kourkoula, an architect at En Route Architecture and collaborator with Kokkinou Kourkoula Architects & Associates. Through her research into personal artifacts and archival material from the office, she painted a portrait of two contrasting yet complementary architectural personas who collaborated seamlessly, both professionally and in their personal lives.

 

Gold Sponsor: el greco gallery

Silver Sponsor: Ballian Techniki S.A.

Cocktail Event Sponsor: Alta Linea

Stage Design Sponsor: Veneta Cucine

Sponsors: Alumil,  Halo Architectural Lighting,  Europa,  Kokotas – Haier,  Luun

Supporters: Αnko Ηellas,  CORE Construction,  Dimand,  egreen,  ETEM,  inmind, KEBE, Knauf, Koligas Wood Essence, MKK Techniki, Sika, StoHellas, Vimar,  Xionas

Hospitality sponsor: St George Lycabettus

Media Sponsor: News247

 

Opposite the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch, a hotel in central Athens uses vertical façade elements, framed balconies, marble, oak and integrated greenery to establish a contemporary dialogue with the city’s classical context.

 

Anthology of Athens by Elastic Architects is located in the historic centre of Athens, in direct visual dialogue with the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch. The design draws on the city’s classical references without reproducing them literally, translating proportion, verticality, materiality and views into a contemporary architectural language.

The concept also takes inspiration from the myth of Deucalion, in which stones thrown upon the earth become human beings. This relationship between matter and transformation becomes a recurring theme throughout the building, from the rhythm of the façade to the tactile treatment of the interiors.

 

A façade structured by proportion

The main elevation is organized through new balconies and a system of vertical elements that give the façade its principal rhythm.

Their spacing follows proportional relationships based on the golden section, establishing a clear grid across the elevation. These elements perform both functional and compositional roles, framing the balconies while controlling the visual relationship between the guestrooms and the surrounding city.

Rather than directly imitating classical columns, the vertical members abstract their linearity and rhythm. The reference to the nearby Temple of Olympian Zeus therefore operates through proportion and repetition rather than ornament.

 

Framing the Athenian landscape

The façade functions as a series of filters between interior space and the urban landscape.

The projecting balconies create depth and shade, while their vertical frames structure views towards the archaeological monuments and the wider city. From the upper levels, these openings become architectural devices for observing rather than simply overlooking Athens.

Light and shadow continuously alter the perception of the elevation. The vertical elements cast changing patterns across the balconies, reinforcing the depth of the façade and giving the building a different appearance throughout the day.

The architecture is therefore shaped not only by its physical form, but also by the changing relationship between material, daylight and view.

 

Classical references through abstraction

The project interprets its historical surroundings through contemporary geometry.

The rhythm of ancient colonnades is translated into slender vertical forms, while the orthogonal organization of the façade provides a controlled framework for the different openings and balconies.

This grid also influences the organization of the interiors, extending the logic of the exterior into the spatial structure of the hotel. The reference remains abstract: the design does not reproduce classical motifs, but reworks principles of proportion, repetition and structural rhythm.

 

A more expressive interior

Inside, the architectural language becomes more tactile and expressive.

Marble, oak, glass and textured plaster create a layered material environment, while integrated planting introduces a contrasting natural element. The interplay between mineral, timber and planted surfaces gives the communal spaces greater depth without departing from the restrained palette established by the architecture.

The use of natural materials connects different areas of the hotel while allowing changes in texture to distinguish individual spaces.

Curved elements appear alongside the more orthogonal geometry of the building, introducing a softer counterpoint within circulation areas and shared interiors.

 

Marble, oak and textured surfaces

Materiality becomes particularly important in the guestrooms and communal areas.

Marble provides the principal mineral surface, while oak introduces warmth and a finer texture. Glass with decorative treatment and fluted plaster add further variation, creating different responses to natural and artificial light.

The colour palette remains controlled, with off-white, beige and earth tones extending across both interior and exterior surfaces. These restrained colours reinforce continuity between materials and allow the architectural elements, vegetation and views to remain visually prominent.

 

Architecture as a filter of views

Anthology of Athens uses its position within the historic centre as a central component of the design.

The façade mediates between the intimacy of the guestrooms and the monumental scale of the surrounding city, while the interiors develop the same concept through changes in material, texture and light.

Elastic Architects translate classical references into proportion and rhythm rather than direct quotation. Vertical elements, framed balconies, marble surfaces and greenery establish a contemporary architectural identity whose relationship with Athens is defined primarily through what it frames, filters and reveals.

 

The project was first published in print in ek302 | November 2025.

Architectural Event on Colour

The architectural event “Material Matters Vol. 5: Colour“, organized by ek magazine under the auspices of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, concluded successfully on May 27, 2024, at the atrium of the Benaki Museum, Pireos Street. The event attracted numerous professionals from the fields of architecture and design, who explored the importance of color in architectural design through thematic presentations.

The event was opened by Athanasios Tsoumalakos, General Manager of Eastern Europe and President and CEO of Ideal Standard Greece, representing the Platinum Sponsor. He was followed by Spyros Katopodis, Commercial Director of Elval Colour, the Gold Sponsor.

The first speaker was Marika Mavroleon of A&M Architects, who discussed the psychological significance of color in design through examples from her office and other architects. Following her, Katerina Apostolou of AKA Apostolou Colakis Architects spoke about the geometry of color. Petros Tavaniotis of Betaplan presented various color applications in healthcare and welfare buildings. Katerina Kourkoula and Hannes Livers Gutberlet discussed the use of color in selected projects, while Minos Digenis of Minos Digenis Arquitectos analyzed how color contributes to creating experiences from an architectural to an urban scale. Giannis Karachalios of Plaini and Karachalios Architects explained the rules of applying color in his office’s projects. Miltos Kontogiannis of Studiomateriality highlighted the importance of architectural color from the perspective of branding and communication. Maria Tsaftari of Urban Soul Project reviewed recent buildings and interior designs of her office, and Vana Krimnioti presented a series of journal notes on architecture and space, focusing on colors and their multiple connotations. The event concluded with a presentation by the keynote speaker, Dimitris Antonakakis, who, through carefully selected projects, showcased intriguing aspects of his research on color in architecture conducted by Studio 66, offering invaluable insights to attendees.

The event was curated by Ariadne Vozani, Editor-in-Chief of ek magazine and Professor at NTUA, and coordinated by Stavros Martinos, architect and member of the magazine’s editorial team.

 

Platinum Sponsor: Ideal Standard
Gold Sponsor: Elval Colour
Silver Sponsor: AkzoNobel
Bronze Sponsor: Neokem
Sponsors: Halo Architectural Lighting, Textures and Tiles,  Kraft Paints-Bioclima
Supporters: Fibran, Nea Polis, Prodea, Roche Bobois, Sigma Coatings, Terra Creative, Tselentakis, Verdi, Vitex
Cocktail Event Sponsor: Kanelli
Media Sponsor: NEWS247
Beverages and Spirits Sponsor: Vergina

Architectural Event on Colour

 

The 5th architectural event of the “Material Matters” series, organized by ek magazine, will take place on Monday, May 27, 2024, in the atrium of the Benaki Museum (138 Pireos Street).

The aim of the “Material Matters” series is to highlight the significance of various contemporary and traditional materials in Greek architectural and construction practices. Through theoretical approaches and built works of Greek architects, the events focus on exploring the history and characteristics of each material and their application in the evolving landscape of architecture, influenced by economic and technological advancements.
Material Matters Vol.5 is dedicated to a key feature of spatial configuration in architecture: Colour.

The application of color in architecture significantly impacts our perception of space by enhancing depth, intensity, and the significance of specific surfaces, volumes, and details. Historically and in the modern era, color serves as an architectural component that imbues a particular atmosphere, durability, and greatly enhances each project’s expression.

Ten speakers from the fields of architecture and design will delve into the role of color in their work, delivering engaging 10-minute presentations.

Speakers:
– Dimitris Antonakakis | A66 Architects
– Katerina Apostolou | AKA Architects
– Minos Digenis | Minos Digenis Arquitectos
– John Karahalios – Elisavet Plaini | Plaini & Karahalios Architects
– Miltos Kontogiannis | Studio Materiality
– Katerina Kourkoula – Hannes Livers Gutberlet | en route architecture
– Vana Krimnioti
– Marika Mavroleon | A&M Architects
– Petros Tavaniotis | Betaplan
– Maria Tsaftari | USP

 

Platinum Sponsor: Ideal Standard
Gold Sponsor: Elval Colour
Silver Sponsor: AkzoNobel
Bronze Sponsor: Neokem
Sponsors: Halo Architectural Lighting, Textures and Tiles,  Kraft Paints-Bioclima
Supporters: Fibran, Nea Polis, Prodea, Roche Bobois, Sigma Coatings, Terra Creative, Tselentakis, Verdi, Vitex
Cocktail Event Sponsor: Kanelli
Media Sponsor: NEWS247
Beverages and Spirits Sponsor: Vergina

 

Location and Concept

Located in one of the busiest neighborhoods in the center of Athens, the Chouréal pastry shop belongs to the first chain specializing in handmade profiteroles in Greece.

Design Approach and Layout

The primary objective, which dictated the arrangement of all functions in the space, was for customers to observe the profiterole-making process while selecting the desired ingredients until receiving the final product. The central refrigeration unit containing the profiterole chocolates was placed prominently, with the preparation area and baking oven positioned behind it, creating a visual separation with a glass structure to maintain visual communication.

Ceiling Design and Color Palette

The ceiling features a system of intersecting vaults described by numerous vertical wooden elements, emphasizing the central counter. The specialized design and construction calculations were done in collaboration with “Object-e architecture.” The chosen color, the distinctive green of the company’s branding, highlights the complexity of the construction’s geometry and sets it apart from the rough textures and dark colors of the rest of the space.

Atmosphere and Lighting Design

The atmosphere of the shop aims to deviate from the typical feeling of a pastry shop. Therefore, the lighting design with low general intensity and focus on the dessert display area resembles lighting logic found in jewelry stores.

Compact Volume

Location and Conceptual Framework

Situated in the suburban zone of Athens, at the base of Mount Hymettus, the 92m² residence is a testament to bioclimatic architecture and efficient space utilization. The design seamlessly integrates the characteristics of the location, a bioclimatic approach, and the functional needs of a six-member family.

 

Structural Composition and Spatial Organization

The residence’s architecture revolves around a monolithic volume, thoughtfully crafted both externally and internally. The spatial organization within this solid structure adheres to the static framework. A “T” configuration, defined by two load-bearing beams, cleverly distributes the living room, dining area, kitchen, staircase, and bedrooms to different sides. The choice of materials for the visible beams of the “T” accentuates the distinction between private and shared spaces.

 

Unveiling the Structural System

While the building exudes a sense of monolithicity, there are strategic interruptions that reveal the structural system. Examples include the projecting beam at the entrance and the balcony of the upper floor. These carefully placed interruptions, along with a corner window, add visual interest to the solid volume.

 

Double-Height Living Space: Connecting Indoors and Outdoors

A pivotal design element is the creation of a double-height living space on two levels, incorporating a mezzanine, dining area, and kitchen. This design choice establishes a strong visual and functional connection with the outdoors, extending the activities of the ground floor into the open and planted area of the plot.

 

Private and Communal Areas

The limited footprint is strategically utilized to create private relaxation spaces that are separated from communal areas on the same level and on the upper floor. This spatial arrangement is achieved through a cantilevered staircase, providing distinct zones for various activities.

 

Bioclimatic Design Principles

The architectural design maximizes the specific conditions of the site, incorporating optimal orientation and effective shading systems. Movable awnings, canopies, and pergolas are strategically employed to control sunlight and enhance energy efficiency.

 

Landscaping for Microclimate

The outdoor space is carefully landscaped with deciduous trees that offer shade and contribute to a pleasant microclimate. Pergolas and the plot’s enclosure support climbing plants, adding a touch of nature to the architectural design.

 

Passive-Bioclimatic Envelope

The residence’s envelope is designed to be passive-bioclimatic, promoting sustainable living. A substantial thickness of thermal insulation minimizes thermal bridges, contributing to energy efficiency.

 

Energy-Efficient Systems

To further enhance sustainability, the residence incorporates innovative technologies. An energy-efficient fireplace, a centralized heat pump air-conditioning system, and solar collectors on the roof collectively contribute to the low energy consumption of the building.

By seamlessly integrating these elements, the bioclimatic residence stands as a harmonious blend of architecture, design, and environmental consciousness, providing an optimized living space for the modern family.

The launch of the new issue of the Japanese architecture magazine “a+u” dedicated to Point Supreme Architects (Marianna Rentzou, Konstantinos Pantazis), is taking place on Thursday, June 15th 2023 at 19:30 at Hyper Hypo bookstore in Athens.
It is the first time that such an important international architecture publication dedicates a whole issue to a Greek architecture studio. The publication’s 168 pages present a selection of Athens Projects,  20 built projects and 5 texts by important colleagues who analyze the works. The presentation will be in Greek. There will be limited copies of the issue for sale. Concurrently, there will be an exhibition in the store’s project space underground, with photos of the works.
A party will follow.

Rolex is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and its commitment to the arts worldwide over the years. For the first time, the company will bring this programme and dozens of the world’s most talented artists who excel in their art to Athens in a celebration of the legacy of 20 years of mentoring.

The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative holds a special place within the Perpetual Arts Initiative. It encompasses a distinctive and unique vision of mentoring – generous and global – that plays a tangible role in promoting excellence and the future of the arts.

The mentoring programme, recognized as an initiative with unparalleled respect and legitimacy, has become a universal reference in artistic circles where it is linked to the genuine commitment of Rolex as a true patron of culture. It provides new artists with the opportunity to be supported by masters in their fields and the confidence they need to recognize and reveal their full creative potential. Additionally, the programme helps safeguard the world’s artistic heritage.

Over two decades, a remarkable artistic community has been built, encouraging an international dialogue across cultures and disciplines that helps the Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative realize its main objective: the transmission of knowledge to new generations of artists on a global scale. The Athens event is both a true manifestation and celebration of this life-changing programme.

Festival performances and events

Today, Rolex announced that multidisciplinary performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, installations, and discussions will share the achievements and ongoing creative relationships of more than 60 Rolex protégés and mentors. It will fill stages, galleries, and public spaces at nine venues in Athens – the cradle of arts and learning – for a full week in spring 2023 with more than 30 performances and events, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. The Rolex Arts Festival, spanning dance, theatre, music, film, architecture, visual arts and literature, and showcasing a generation of outstanding international artists who have advanced their work with the support of Rolex, will be presented to the public from 26 to 28 May. A special pre-festival programme, dedicated to the people of Athens and organized to engage Greek artists, arts professionals and young people, will be offered from 22 to 25 May.

In presenting a dazzling array of works by the Rolex fellows (former protégés) from 26 to 28 May, as well as public conversations among the fellows and acclaimed mentors – many living legends – the Rolex Arts Festival seeks to inspire those in the Greek capital at the heart of the world’s culture. The festival will also be a vivid demonstration of the commitment to reach for the pinnacle of performance that drives Rolex to support individuals and organizations in the arts. This continuous pursuit of excellence, symbolized by the word ‘Perpetual’, underpins every aspect of Rolex’s activities – from its watchmaking to its many partnerships.

In keeping with this mission, the pre-festival programme presented from 22 to 25 May will feature the participation of dozens of Greek artists in 14 free public and professionalevents. A distinguished eight-member Greek Advisory Committee has provided counsel and assistance in organizing all aspects of the Rolex Arts Festival, which is being curated by independent arts advisor and programmer Emma Gladstone OBE, former Artistic Programmer at Sadler’s Wells in London and former Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Dance Umbrella.

“To bring the public just some of the wealth of multidisciplinary achievements that have been fostered by the Rolex mentoring programme, we issued an open call to all Rolex fellows to participate by presenting works,” said Rebecca Irvin, head of the mentoring programme at Rolex. “The response was overwhelming and unanimous. We at Rolex are moved and excited by the outpouring of creative energy and the spirit of communal engagement that the fellows will be offering in Athens.” Gladstone commented, “There is astonishing generosity in the range of work that the Rolex fellows will be showing the people of Athens – a generosity matched by the invaluable relationships that the mentors formed with these fellows, and by the contributions of Rolex in initiating and supporting this special endeavour. To honour this generosity across the 20 years of the Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, the Rolex Arts Festival will highlight three broad themes: the relationship of sharing at the core of the programme, the impact of this sharing on the fellows, and the ongoing artistic legacy that the fellows are now creating around the world.”

Highlights of the Rolex Arts Festival

Events and presentations in the Rolex Arts Festival will be offered to the general public at minimal cost, with ticket proceeds going to the partner institutions for their arts programmes.
The activities will include:

• A group exhibition at EMST (National Museum of Contemporary Art) by the eight Rolex visual arts fellows – Sammy Baloji, Alejandro Cesarco, Masanori Handa, Nicholas Hlobo, Mateo López, Thao Nguyen Phan, Camila Rodríguez Triana and Matthias Weischer – with an introductory talk moderated by mentor Carrie Mae Weems.

• A group exhibition at Benaki Pireos 138 of work by all Rolex architecture fellows – Sahel Alhiyari, Gloria Cabral, Mariam Issoufou Kamara, Simon Kretz and Yang Zhao – with an introductory talk moderated by mentor Sir David Chipperfield.

• A screening in the courtyard of Benaki Pireos 138 of short films by Rolex arts fellows Aditya Assarat, Kyle Bell, Sara Fgaier, Annemarie Jacir, Josué Méndez, Celina Murga, Agustina San Martín, Tom Shoval and Chaitanya Tamhane.

• Two theatrical presentations: The Case of the Stranger by Rolex arts fellow Whitney White at the Athens Conservatoire, with a post-show talk featuring Rolex mentor Phyllida Lloyd, and [÷] v.0.8: Boléro, a solo performance at Ω2 Complex by arts fellow Sebastián Solórzano Rodríguez.

• Two dance events at the Athens Conservatoire: a performance by Rolex arts fellow Khoudia Touré with an ensemble of Greek and international dancers, and a double bill featuring arts fellow Eduardo Fukushima in a solo performance and a duet choreographed by fellow Myles Thatcher.

• Two music events: a sound installation performance at Megaron’s Trianti Hall Side Stage by Rolex music fellow Ben Frost, and a closing concert at Megaron Gardens featuring ensembles from Egypt, Honduras and the UnitedStates led by fellows Dina Elwedidi, Marcus Gilmore and Aurelio Martínez, with a guest appearance by mentor Gilberto Gil.

• Four installation works at the Athens Conservatoire by Rolex fellows Selina Cartmell (theatre), Matías Umpierrez (theatre), Federico León (theatre) and Jason Akira Somma (dance).

• A music commission and performance, Artemis: Fountain, created for the Dancing Fountains at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, by Rolex music fellow Pauchi Sasaki.

• A Word in Your Ear: writings by all Rolex literature fellows – Naomi Alderman, Antonio García Ángel, Edem Awumey, Colin Barrett, Julían Fuks, Julia Leigh, Miroslav Penkov and Tracy K. Smith – read in English and Greek by noted actors, introduced at a presentation in the Athens Conservatoire Amphitheatre and available for digital download throughout the Rolex Arts Festival.

Additional events

Two special “Sideways Mentoring” events will show how Rolex fellows are now inspiring each other and working in collaboration across disciplines. At Ω2 Complex film fellow Annemarie Jacir and literature fellow Colin Barrett will present a film script they are developing, with selected scenes interpreted by actors. At NewStage, Maya Zbib (theatre), Lee Serle (dance), and Mateo López (visual arts) will present Listening to the Walls Wear Off Their Colour, a dance theatre performance they have created.
Public discussions presented throughout the Rolex Arts Festival will be:

• New Legacies: Four fellows (names to be confirmed) in a conversation about the social, cultural, and ecological impact of their creative work.

• Creative Alchemy: Three fellows and three mentors (names to be confirmed) in a conversation about the elusive yet essential qualities that spark a creative relationship, moderated by Orestis Andreadakis, Artistic Director of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

• Lifelong Learning: Three established artists (names to be confirmed) who have guided and inspired fellow artists, sharing reflections and memories about the people that influenced them in their own lives.

The Rolex Arts Festival will also include a Gala evening at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, where the 20th anniversary ceremony will feature performances by music fellows David Aaron Carpenter, Vasco Mendonça and Susan Platts, with music fellow Josep Caballé Domenech conducting the El Sistema Greece Youth Orchestra, and the participation of the Greek women’s a capella
ensemble Chores.

It should be noted that the majority of the festival will be in English with Greek translation available (where appropriate). Film and video works will have Greek and English subtitles. All readings in the digital audio project A Word in Your Ear will be available in Greek and English.

The Pre-Festival Programme to the Rolex Arts Festival

Leading up to the Rolex Arts Festival, the four-day pre-festival programme (22–25 May) will include day-long workshops, masterclasses, public talks, musical performances and rehearsals, and more, involving dozens of Greek artists, Rolex fellows and mentors including Anne Lacaton, Phyllida Lloyd, Robert Lepage, Walter Murch and Colm Tóibín.
The Advisory Committee for both the festival and pre-festival programmes consists of: Eleftheria Deko (cross-disciplinary artist working in lighting design for performance, architecture and art), Katerina Evangelatos (Artistic Director of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival), Sofia Exarchou (writer-director of the 2016 awardwinning film Park), Katerina Gregos (Artistic Director of EMST, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens), Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis (drummer, composer and orchestrator), Euripides Laskaridis (choreographer/performer, founder of the Osmosis company), Ilias Papageorgiou (architect, founder and principal of the PILA studio) and Kostas Spatharakis (editor, translator and founder of Antipodes Publications).

ABOUT THE ROLEX MENTOR AND PROTÉGÉ ARTS INITIATIVE

Established in 2002 to assist in the transfer of knowledge from one generation of artists to the next, the mentoring programme is based on the belief that art is a continuum, an accumulation of past experiences over generations, and that all artists are inspired by those who went before them. In keeping with the Rolex tradition of encouraging individual excellence, younger artists of exceptional promise – the protégés – are given the rare opportunity to spend significant periods of time in creative exchange with world-renowned artists in their particular field – the mentors – on a one-to-one basis. The programme today encompasses the disciplines of architecture, dance, film, literature, music, theatre and visual arts. There is also a variable, or “open category”, mentorship that can take place in other fields or in an interdisciplinary pursuit. These mentorships are grouped in alternating periods according to discipline.

The mentors who have so far given of their time and vast talent are among the world’s greatest artists. They are: Sir David Adjaye, Margaret Atwood, (the late) John Baldessari, Tahar Ben Jelloun, (the late) Trisha Brown, (the late) Patrice Chéreau, Sir David Chipperfield, Mia Couto, Alfonso Cuarón, (the late) Sir Colin Davis, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Olafur Eliasson, Brian Eno, (the late) Hans Magnus Enzensberger, William Forsythe, Stephen Frears, Gilberto Gil, Philip Glass, Alejandro G. Inárritu, (the late) Sir Peter Hall, David Hockney, Rebecca Horn, Zakir Hussain, Joan Jonas, Sir Anish Kapoor, William Kentridge, Jiří Kylián, Robert Lepage, Lin Hwai-min, Phyllida Lloyd, Spike Lee, Lin-Manuel Miranda, (the late) Toni Morrison, Walter Murch, Ohad Naharin, Mira Nair, Youssou N’Dour, (the late) Jessye Norman, Michael Ondaatje, Crystal Pite, Alexei Ratmansky, Kaija Saariaho, Martin Scorsese, Kazuyo Sejima, Peter Sellars, Álvaro Siza, Wole Soyinka, Julie Taymor, Saburo Teshigawara, Jennifer Tipton, Colm Tóibín, Kate Valk, Mario Vargas Llosa, Carrie Mae Weems, Robert Wilson, Zhang Yimou, Pinchas Zukerman and Peter Zumthor.

Rigas Plastika S.A. headquarters are in Athens, in a ​​300m² area. The goal was to create a modern, high-standard workplace, based on both a human-centered design approach and on the selection of quality materials.

Layout Design

The planning and space arrangement was initiated after considering the shape of the floor plan, the ergonomics, and the functional characteristics of the work in each department of the company. The decision to move ahead with separating the departments, over an open plan space scenario, was made to ensure employee high concentration ability through low noise levels and provide a greater sense of privacy. The installation of glass partitions and the use of transparency in selected areas ensured a sense of harmony in the space and allowed for natural light to come through.

Architectural Materials and Sustainability

The materials selected and used are consistent with modern standards for sustainability. This together with the ability for natural ventilation and lighting contribute to workplace wellbeing and energy consumption reduction.

Athens’ favorite Scandinavian design shop Myran recently opened its doors in an additional location at the very heart of Athens Kolonaki district, in the iconic Palaiologos apartment building. Called Apenanti –the other side– it is a showroom and office space that seeks to display both furniture and a way of life.

The building itself was designed in 1935 by architect Ioannis Koukiadis, and with its smooth symmetrical shapes, horizontal lines, and sharp curves, it is a brilliant example of the Art Deco movement ‘Streamline Modern’. Myran’s owners and the Greek-Scandinavian studio OOAK architects collaborated to design a go-to space for inspiration, dialogue, and consultation framed in this beautiful shell that brings together classical and decorative elements with the aesthetic of machines.

The space was conceived as a series of rooms that display everyday situations, like a private apartment with a very public character. Respecting all the building’s original features, the design is based on the use of color as an element that accentuates and enhances the experience of space – and of course the furniture on display. Taking cues from the decorative elements of the apartment, color is applied differently in each room, always with a focus on elevating three distinct heights and scales. The bold palette complements the strong design character of the Scandinavian furniture showcased in the rooms but never takes over. The showroom is meant to inspire, and just like the furniture, color as a final layer of the finished surface helps set the tone, mood, and energy of the space.

Apenanti shows how classic modern and contemporary Scandinavian design can be applied in a quintessentially Athenian apartment, adapting to, and creating a new Greek-Scandi living experience that combines functionality and simplicity without sacrificing playfulness.

The two main ideas in the creation of this all-day Burger Bar, οn the ground floor of an office building just a couple of steps from the main square of Vrislissia town, were the industrial look and feel and the unification of the interior with the exterior.

The building owner’s requirement was to minimize modifications. The double-height space, the curvy attic, the existing shell of bulky columns and masonry, and the large openings, were the elements that should be incorporated in the design.

From the outset, the wish of the owners was to erase the limits between indoor and outdoor and this set the main direction for the seating arrangement and the choice of the materials and design details.

The central area of the restaurant is connected to the main yard. On the attic, a small lounge is accommodated, in addition to other small auxiliary facilities, creating a balcony with a view of the main restaurant hall.

In the interior, large metal dividing structures in glass and mirror, floor and wall cladding with the warm tones of brick tiles, metal and wooden structures, hanging plants from the roof, compose the design palette, consistent with the two main principals of this project.

The dominant element in the hall is the extravagantly designed bar, which highlights the significant roof height. Carefully picked antique furniture, along with custom-made lighting, enhances the industrial character of the interior.

Ü Athens is a 37m² all-day café/bar, located in the center of Athens, in Kaisariani district. The Ü shape, logo of the store, derives from the quote “na hamogelas” which in Greek means “to smile” and reflects the store’s philosophy. The welcoming quote on the entrance of the store is loud and clear.

The main focus of the space is the minimalist side of forged cement. Colors, textures, and materials are inspired by this idea, updated with contemporary details.

Tiles create a strip that crosses through space and lines from LED lights create an ambient atmosphere, day, and night. As all the details matter, focal points are visible, like for example the electrical and ventilation network, that maintain the industrial character of the internal space.

The store can be entered either from the main entrance, or from the side entrance that has four folding doors. At the main entrance, a big window with a bench creates a vivid façade. Simple, playful, and versatile stools made of recycled plastic, custom made tables and benches made of inox and brass, create a welcoming seating area.

Branding details such as the movable LED signage and the iridescent sticker at the entrance door are subtle highlights amongst the cement surfaces.

Together the elements glow from within an elegantly restored architecture that evokes the atmosphere of a contemporary all-day space.

Athens-based Amalgama Architects have renovated a 230spm apartment for a young couple. The apartment is housed in α four-storey apartment building on Heyden Street, designed by architect Dimitris Pikionis, with partner architect Nikolaos Mitsakis. D. Pikionis creates a modern building in which he will incorporate elements from various elements of Greek architecture, in details of the facades, in the use of materials as well as in the design of the interior spaces and furniture. The architects -in collaboration with the new owners- decided the aesthetic approach of the design, aiming to highlight the poetic dimension of the space and consequently to formulate an alternative way of living.

The basic features of the apartment were kept intact. The kitchen was unified with the dining room, creating a large space of co-existing uses. The unification of the spaces also worked beneficially for their natural lighting as the large openings let natural light into a cozy and comfortable space. A shower was installed in the existing wc, to create a second bathroom. The goal of the new spaces is to meet the functional needs of the owners’ daily life. Vivid colors have been applied throughout the apartment, creating a playful interplay with the terrazzo-wooden floors and the wall colors.

Entering the flat, the intense green color space welcomes the visitors. The living room is in the center of the living areas, between the dining room and the office. The spaces are separated by wooden doors which have been kept intact. The central element of the living room is a – custom made library design by the architects made of metal and wood. Opening the sliding wooden doors, the living room joins the office where a red wall highlights the existing wooden furniture, which the owners decided to keep. The corridor that leads to the individual spaces is colored with two shades, highlighting its geometry. In the kitchen green pastel tones are chosen with orange details on the wall.

All the terrazzo floors were restored. In the new bathroom, dark red marble is used with the same shade covering the shower area, while the ceiling is painted deep green, creating a strong contrast. White marble is used in the existing bathroom, giving a sense of purity and elegance. The furniture and mirrors -made of metal and wood- are specially designed for the space. The rooms retain the existing wardrobes, while a deep blue wallpaper creates a cozy atmosphere and a sense of relaxation.

What if users and landscape can co-exist in such harmonious balance, creating an intimate level of experience that feels like the building does not exist and is invisible? The competition entry highlighted this question considering the prominent location of the project into the campus of Athens College.

Situated steps away from the main entry gate of Stefanou Delta Street, the north view of this building will be the visitor’s first impression upon entering the College, and the student’s last memory following graduation. Engulfed at the boundary of the sports courts and the campus grove, the competition site asks for a scattered massing that will encourage flows of students to experience building and surroundings alike.

Therefore, the requested program is divided into two big categories: a) the educational functions (art studios, library, classes, management) and b) the exhibition functions (exhibition space, toilets, storage, amphitheater). To improve environmental performance and reduce envelope costs, the design organized the educational program above ground and the exhibition program in the basement. This division allows for clean separation between the students’ flow (towards classes and studios) and visitors’ flow (towards exhibition space); simultaneously, internal building communication permits the connection of education and art when needed.

Considering the plot’s characteristics and its surroundings – both current and planned – and to ease student flows, the educational program is broken down into five separate volumes. The in-between outdoor area of the proposed massing enhances the existing campus circulation, while providing independent access to the classes, art studios, library, and staff offices. Five cores connect the educational Superstructure with the basement zone. This Grand Basement accommodates the exhibition hall and its support areas. Students moving from the educational Superstructure to the Grand Basement encounter a multi-functional Hall before moving to the double-height exhibition room. The Grand Basement Hall is imagined as one of the most active, open, and livable areas of the Arts Building: a zone where students can exhibit projects and prepare their yearly shows, parents can admire their children, and visitors can participate in open seminars; a secret basement universe where nature elegantly inserts into the pedagogy, education and science encounter art, and diverse freedom of expression meets inclusivity.

Two big staircases immerse the user towards the entry plaza situated at a lower level, surrounded by the outdoor amphitheater. In honor of the D. Daskalopoulos donation, the design team decided to dedicate four spacious areas of the building’s lobby to exhibit a selection of the collection’s art pieces, under big skylights.

The proposal for the D.Daskalopoulos Arts Building, with its scattered massing, brick façade and landscape integration looks carefully into the site, campus, program, IB curriculum, donor’s collection, budget and sustainability. It improves social and educational interaction inside and outside the new building and integrates this original typology into the educational experience and collegiate life.

The new space in Syntagma area, Athens, was designed as a destination for healthy eating afficionados, operating at once as a bar-restaurant and a retail store.

Its main idea is nature, and its fruit in the most unprocessed, “raw” form. Therefore, the design recreates the feel of a garden: the earthy color of the products is translated in terracotta, prominent throughout the interior, while the outdoor feel is recreated with ambient lighting, emulating sunlight.

Product display and seating are integrated in this garden without zoning. The entrance is marked by succulents on shelves, and pink lanterns on the walls, giving the impression that one is out in nature, where greenery and soil take center stage. The space continues as an elongated hallway leading to the white marble bar, and to the display screen. Patron seats are high metal stools and benches with cushions in green, white, and terracotta shades.

Screens in glass and metal were designed for product storage and display, showcasing the high quality, fresh materials. Metal shelves emulating branches and leaves reach the middle of the store, retaining the organic shapes of nature.

Laser-cut mirror motivational quotes grace the walls, creating clever sentences with references to healthy eating.

The apartment is a prototypical interwar dwelling, integrated in the historically layered urban fabric at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis. The principal objective of the renovation was to maintain the atmosphere permeating the original design, and the historical footprint visible both on the building façade and in the construction details, enhancing the whole with the new library, living and dining rooms. The interwar character of the house is kept through the effortless pairing of materials and textures, the juxtaposition of playful unconventionality with sublime austerity, and simple forms which are consistent with the needs of a contemporary family. The forms emerging from the new interior design evolve in space as organic extensions of the shell and as living ramifications of its main structural elements, rather than static pieces of furniture.

The library, a sculptural composition of different materials (slender metal sheets, corrugated and perforated surfaces, wood) features an unexpected geometry as a kaleidoscopic version of this same element, a design play on its appearance and function. Visibly “contemporary” in its curved forms, and, as such, displaying the present condition of the apartment, the library stands in strong counterpoint to the past -the hardwood oak floor is kept intact to recall it.

In the living room, materials and textures are juxtaposed, highlighting the palimpsest of narratives and experiences inscribed within the interwar apartment. Marble, half-finished or untreated, chiseled concrete, metal, create surfaces for everyday, conventional uses (television sideboard, shelves, coffee table), merging into an elaborate, elegant, tactile whole, an art form inscribing theatricality in the space of quotidian life.

In the dining area, sculptural textures create niches for books and objects, without cluttering the limited space with excessive visual information. Airtight screens, discreetly lit, generate a bas-relief extension of the existing wall, a light geometry which is brought in conversation with the spartan materials on the kitchen façade.

The small apartment with a surprise backyard, in a 70s block of flats, was a challenging renovation project. The vision of the proposed redesign was to transform the dark, fragmented space, into a bright and comfortable apartment, highlighting the unexpected outdoor «room». An inviting, eco-friendly and prime short-term rental, able to cater the needs of a digital nomad guest.

Layout design

The new, L-shaped floor plan consists of a bedroom, a kitchen, a home office, and a bathroom.

The design makes the space look bright and large, while movement flows effortlessly; brings natural light deep in the apartment; offers a unique guest experience; hides oversize objects in the reconstruction; transforms the backyard into an additional room, with chilling, playful vibes; creates a relaxing, natural style.

The functional rearrangement of the space, the interplay between small and large in rooms and objects, the dominant use of wooden elements, the artificial plants, and the careful selection of furniture and equipment, led to the final realization of the challenging goal!

The renovated space promises a cozy welcome to the guest, inviting to explore and experience each corner of the apartment with excitement.

Greek designer Aristotelis Barakos is opening his studio to the public for the first time, with a showcase of his most recent works and the creative process behind them. For three days (27-28-29 May), visitors will have the opportunity to see from up-close, five projects by the award-winning designer, some of which have never been shown in public before.

Entitled ‘Against All Odds’, the open studio event will be taking place on the occasion of the completion of two years from the creation of Studio Aristotelis Barakos, and it takes the form of a retrospective of the designer’s personal work during this time. The workshop of Aristotelis Barakos, as well as the entire floor of the same building, will open for the public specially for the occasion.

On display will be the Théros collection of lighting objects, which is inspired by the materials and memories of Mediterranean summer—as well as a prototype of the Antoinette tabletop lamp, which recently won an award at an international competition. Also on display will be the Sermon candleholder, which is characterised by brutalist lines, and Bonbon, a collection of lounge furniture designed exclusively for Gousdovas Upholstery Workshop in Athens. The showcase completes a new line of lighting objects, Taco de Luz, whose main feature is the impressive reflective bronze sheet that is hammered completely by hand.

After years of activity in industrial design and collaborations with companies in Greece and abroad, Aristotelis Barakos initiated his own independent design studio in 2020. The studio was envisioned as a way to house the designer’s work for other brands, and at the same time as a way to produce his own products, called Studio Editions, which are made in collaboration with local artisans and suppliers.

Studio Aristotelis Barakos will be open to visitors on Friday 27 (opening from 18:00-22:00), Saturday 28, and Sunday 29 May (12:00-20:00), on Marni 54 (2nd floor), in Athens. All necessary health protocols will be applied. For updates you can follow Studio Aristotelis Barakos on Instagram and Facebook.