Pygmalion Karatzas
Architectural, Fine Art & Commercial Photography

Project ID:

Name: Niche Hotel Athens

Type: Hotels / Service industry / Exterior Design / Revamping - Renovation / Tourism / Hospitality

Architects: Elastic Architects

Lead architects: Ria Vogiatzi & Alexandros Xenos

Location: Athens, Greece

Completion year: 2019

Client: Elastic Architects, Niche Hotel Athens

Photography: Pygmalion Karatzas

Photo shoot date: July 2019

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Project description:

“The Niche Hotel project challenges the transformation of a former office building into a hotel of 37 rooms among its 7 floors, with a total number of 73 beds. Located in the center of Athens, near the New Acropolis Museum, it is surrounded by office buildings and block of flats, most of which were built during the 60’s and 70’s, but also by numerous mid-war and neoclassical buildings and important monuments.The original construction took place into two phases, one in 1958 and one in 1973. During the phase of the 1958’s excavations, archaeological artifacts came to light, along with parts of the Athenian Valerian wall. That gave the opportunity for a new design that would embrace antiquity along with the new building’s functions.
The existing building is a representative example of Greek mid-war architecture, following the functions and analogies of the era. Basic characteristics of the time were the development of the elevation in three zones, the feeling of cubism and lack of plasticity of the volume and the intense grid of the window frames. Primary materials of the era were glass and aluminum, combined with marble cladding which provided a sense of luxury.Based on the centricity of the urban block, the location of the building at the corner of the site along with the cultural characteristics of the area and the possibility of using natural textures that last in time and city’s pollution, the redesign of the facades was reconstructed according to the existing elevations. Furthermore, the facades followed the language of the volumetric composition which is broken down by the concept of an ancient Greek arcade. This gave us the opportunity to integrate our design by bringing together the old with the new. The building itself pays its respects to the culture of the historic area accompanied by its functionalities, which include innovative uses that allow the air and sun to come into the building while the marble façade shines under the Athenian sky. The new hotel provides to the visitors a unique experience, a transition from the viewing of the Acropolis and Fillopappou hills from the roof garden, to the exploration of an actual archaeological site located at the basement.”

[text by the architects]

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Links:

Elastic Architects: https://elasticarchitects.com

Niche Hotel Athens: https://nichehotelathens.gr

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Vendors:

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Publications:

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Image Copyright: Rights-Managed © Pygmalion Karatzas.

Image Licensing: High-resolution images are available for editorial and limited commercial use.
Edition Type: Open edition print.
Fine Art Prints: Images are available in gallery-quality fine art prints on various sizes, media and framing options.
Please inquire for further information for usage licensing and prints.

Archive stat.: 74 images