The architectural project concerns a protected monument, built in the commercial center of Athens during belle époque, in the beginning of the 20th century. Around Saint Irini’s place was a neighborhood where settled textiles stores, luxury hotels signed by renowned architects and residences of the upper bourgeoisie of Athenian society.
It is a unique aesthetics building, capturing the most latest trends of the Athenian neoclassicism with deviation to mannerism and excellent decorations. Bold construction solutions for bridging large openings and innovations like the hanging central staircase, characterize the building’s special identity.
A dual use building then, after the restoration, designed to house today Athens 1890 boutique hotel & Spa, and is developed in six floors. The building has a total surface of 1.100m2 with 100% plot coverage in a continuous building system.
In the ground floor and the mezzanine designed the all day bar restaurant-lobby and the reading and business area of the hotel. In the basement are hosted the wellness area including indoor swimming pool, hammam, sauna, emotional shower and auxiliary rooms.
The façade according to neoclassicism dogmatic principles, includes a variety of decorative elements such as the bust of the ancient goddess Athina Varvakios, under the central balcony, and the marble’s imitation restored in the wall surfaces. The architectural study and the interior design was carried out in all the spaces including the smallest detail, giving a new aesthetics identity, where the classic elegance is in dialogue with the delicate lines of the design, material choices, colors, textiles and forms for structures and mobile elements, creating attractive spaces full of art deco memories, in an avant garde atmospherique character as a final result. An architects basic choice, showing much respect to the building style, was the creation of new spaces into the old ones, conserving the main style, in a dialectic exchange with the forms of the design.
DESIGN TEAM
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, ΙNTERIOR DESIGN: MICRO TEAM ARCHITECΤS, George Kondylis-Diana Giannopoulou
PHOTOS: ΝΙCK DANIILIDIS
STRUCTURAL DESIGN: Christos Drakopoulos
E/M DESIGN STUDY: ΗΜ Εng S.A.
SUPERVISION: MICRO TEAM ARCHITECΤS, George Kondylis-Diana Giannopoulou
PRESERVERS OF ANTIQUITIES, WORKS OF ART: Αndreas Bekos, Basilis Markakis-2018-20200 - Hotel ΤΕΧΝΙΚΗ Ε.Π.Ε.ΗΣ: Ανδ
CONSTRUCTION: ΕΝΚΑ S.A., DOMISI TECHNIKI LTD
OWNER: ATHENS 1890 – Boutique Hotel & Spa
PLACE: 10, AGIAS IRINIS square, ATHENS, GREECE
DESIGN TIME: 2017-2018
CONSTRUCTION TIME: 2019-2020
