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

 

 

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.