Studio Nikos Kouklakis breathes new life into a former storage room nestled in the heart of the Old Town of Chania, Crete. This dental laboratory places sustainability, functionality and spatial flexibility at its core, seamlessly blending with the time-honored Cretan architectural style. The canvas for this transformation was a 1970s residential building.
The initial steps involved the removal of the mezzanine level’s steel girders, cables, and pipes, liberating the space from its previous constraints. The garage door made way for a wooden-glass facade front adorned with a green hue that harmonizes with the color palette of Chania’s Old Town facades. Additional windows were strategically placed for better light and ventilation, creating an open, airy ambiance. Inside, lime plaster paint coats the walls (excluding the toilet), following a traditional Cretan technique. The standout feature is the terrazzo flooring—a gradient of marble chips in a blue binder, visually unifying the space. The rear section houses the toilet, shower, and kitchen, intelligently designed for a dental lab’s specific needs. Transparency and separation are achieved with opaque glass bricks and safety glass. Collaborating closely with the dental experts Manolis Androulakis and Ioannis Tampakos, Nikos Kouklakis ensured that every element of the laboratory was tailored to the specific needs of its users. The interior boasts cutting-edge machinery and infrastructure typical of a digital lab, complemented by bespoke wooden furnishings crafted by Vassilis Platsakis. The result is a state-of-the-art dental lab that blends thoughtful design with local architecture.
