Architecture firm K-Studio has designed a neo-modernist interior for this boutique hotel, the Perianth, in its hometown of Athens, using local artworks and furnishings. The main challenge of the project lay in the re-working of the layout of the building. More recently the building’s interior has been stripped back leaving only the façade and structural elements to provide clues to its history and to direct their design decision making. The rooms of the lower floors benefit from higher ceilings but as you rise through the building the number of rooms on each level decreases as they increase in floor size to compensate for less lofty ceiling heights.
They reinvented the floor plans, working around the columns and openings to create an unconventional system of rooms and communal space that maximizes the qualities of the building and minimizes its restrictions. As the building had already been internally stripped they worked to retain whatever remained and to showcase them as valuable and vital elements of historical value.
The creative interpretation of the traditional hotel corridor to mimic the urban layout of central Athens leads naturally to the creation of ‘neighborhood squares’. The restrictions of the irregular structural grid also means that each room has its own unique character. The rooms are open and airy with playfully carved out shower rooms and storage facilities that sit seamlessly within the space. The interior design is directly inspired by the streamlined modernity of the architecture, with the curves and repetitive patterns of the façade and balconies.
The characteristic grey of this pigmented render was the starting point in putting together the palette of colors and materials in the rooms. The terrazzo flooring brings a cool lightness to the space; the classically heavier American walnut adds warmth and depth and the blush-pink velvet upholstery introduces a touch of glamour in keeping with the style of the building. The palette is amplified and complimented by a selection of bold, brutalist pieces of furniture and custom-designed brass accents.