DRAWINGS

Pi Athens Suites / Boutique Hotel in Central Athens

BEST CITY HOTEL 2017 by HOTEL DESIGN AWARDS 2017

The project is related to the repurpose, conversion and renovation of an existing old Office Building into a Boutique Hotel. Pi Athens is close to the Kallimarmaro (Athens Panathenaic Stadium), within short walking distance from the National Garden and the Zappeion Megaron Hall of Athens.

The solid design idea of the owner, Sokratis Gavriil, from the initial concept to the interior design determined the end result. Normally, it would be expected that the owner’s constant involvement in the design process could serve as a brake and, consequently, lead to medium or bad end results. However, if the interior is studied in great detail and there is a solid overall design concept, the result is architecturally exceptional. Despite the risk, there is frequent occurrence of interference from the owners or end users. This derives from their need to ensure that nothing is «predetermined» by a professional designer, so they want to feel free to add or make either slight or dramatic changes that mostly appeal to them.

As far as Pi Athens is concerned, we have tried to approach the golden rule: The owner Sokratis Gavriil did not want to assign the interior design to an architect or an interior designer, though. His personal taste of interior design with his mathematics and physics background combine influenced him to the maximum in the process of designing the Suites and residential spaces of the hotel. The role of the architect in this case was consultative and monitoring. A road map was made by the owner’s ideas and designs whilst the architect defined the guidelines for the basic construction practices, lighting, color and texture selection as well as the ceiling design.

The professional interventions not only boosted and strengthened the end result but also contributed to the perfect execution of the owner’s interior design concept. The exterior design of the existing building was decided to remain as it was. We did not hide the metal construction of the building on the 3^rd and 4^th floors, though; some mild changes were made to the existing building architectural concept.

Number π (or Pi) comes from the Greek Letter and almost everybody has learnt something about it at school. The π number decimal places never end and they reflect our inability to «Square the Circle». The Graphic Concept of the entire Hotel Design gives the visitors the opportunity to learn more or recall from their School years this Strange Greek Letter Number.

The lighting effects were likewise studied according to number Pi (π): Circles and Lines designed in the ratio Pi in their length were used as the basic lighting method in the breakfast area at the basement area with additional natural lighting coming from the ceiling glass openings.

On the ground floor there is the reception desk and a small garden with olive trees and other native Greek tree species once brought to the Athenian National Garden by Queen Amalia von Oldenburg.

On each and every floor there are overall 6 suites developed and designed in different sizes so that they are suitable for families, couples or business guests. In the Rooms and Suites the number of beds varies from 2 to 6 (family Suite). On the top floor Suite as well as in the Roof Garden there is unobstructed view to the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

Vinyl wood-like flooring as well as epoxy grey color floors were used to support the design. In the bathrooms a number of surfaces were covered with granite epoxy fragments as well as granite tiles. In the main bedroom area there are also walls covered with 3D vinyl coverings and Inox steel sheets. In general, there is an industrial bond together with a welcoming atmosphere in all the areas of the hotel. For shading, wooden blinds, and various curtains were used. Specially dyed fabrics from the owner’s factory were used for shading and covering purposes, for instance curtains and closet coverings. Aluminum machine parts blended with teak wood were skillfully made to form small tables in the majority of the rooms.

Photos: Louisa Nikolaidou

Architectural Supervisor and Lighting Design: YOLKSTUDIO Manolis Iliakis , Maria Remoundou

Concept and Interior Design: Sokratis Gavriil

Construction: ARTEC

Construction Supervisor: Stavros Kossieris (ARTEC)

Graphics Design: Demetrios Tzavaras

Owner: Sokratis Gavriil

LOCATION: Athens; Panathenaic Stadium Area

Total Area of the Building: 550 sq.m.

Construction and Design Year: 2016