campana brothers: new hotel athens

campana brothers: new hotel athensimage © designboom

located 200 meters from syntagma (constitution) square, the most central part of athens, greece, the ‘new hotel athens’ has recently opened its doors. dakis joannou, owner of yes! hotels, has chosen the brazilian design-duo campana brothers (humberto and fernando campana) to reinterpret the former olympic palace hotel that was originally built in 1958 by architect iasonas rizos. the design process took the form of a workshop together with design and architecture students from university of thessaly.

using unexpected combinations of found objects, materials and fabric off-cuts, the campana brothers created a vocabulary of design, giving poetry to everyday objects. with this renovation project, the brothers joined together the charm of ancient athens with modern amenities, keeping some of the original features of the building and recycling furniture pieces of the former hotel, while adding their handmade chairs and lamps — a blend of art, sculpture and design.

image © designboom

the hotel rooms washbasin with mirrored surface assimilate a rock or a diamond.

image © designboom

‘favela’ chair by campana brothers for edra image © designboom

there are three different room types that reflect the athenian culture. the ‘karagiozis’ room (turkish meaning ‘dark eye’) is decorated with figures of the ‘karagoiozis’ – a traditional shadow puppet of greek folklore theatre. the second room type embraces the ‘evil eye’, a superstitious bead that guards against bad omens, and the third displays historic post cards giving visitors insight into old athens.

‘karagiozis’ room image © designboom

‘karagiozis’ figures image © designboom

balcony with re-edited thonet chairs image © designboom

part of the project was to re-create existing chairs – here shown the thonet chairs with additional upholstery.

‘post card’ room image © designboom

a collage of postcards shows images and photographs of old athens.

close-up of the postcards on the wall image © designboom

‘evil eye’ room image © designboom

image © designboom

the room is divided by a two-sided mirror, leading to the bathroom image © designboom

bathroom with diamond shaped washbasin image © designboom

spa bathroom – the washbasin is made of marble, illuminated from the inside image © designboom

the workshop group created furniture, producing samples and prototypes whilst exploring methods and techniques associated with the campanas style: reusing and reinterpreting local material and culture. the favela wall incorporates memories and recollections of the former hotel – parts of doors and furniture pieces decorate the walls of the reception area.

home-made pastries and fresh, local fruits and vegetables are served daily. the in-house cafe and restaurant is also open to the public during the day.