A mid-war era building, designed by the architect Athanassios Demiris, in 1935, as a leaf spring factory with workshop and office spaces, now housing “Bios” cultural & creative space. On its rooftop, at the area previously occupied by the old laundry room, the storage area and the stairwell, a small space, housing a bar, is introduced.
The design’s main objective was to respect and emphasize the character of the original building and its era with the use of materials, finishes and architectural expression. The large openings all around, overlooking the surrounding terrace, feature steel industrial windows; the plaster walls have bush hammered finishes and the floor continues the terrazzo seen on the other levels of the building.
The new space respects the outline of the old service spaces, but has a looser way of relating to the roof terrace. The element that unifies and defines the space is a new metal and glass roof, echoing the factory roofs of the era, giving the space a semi-outdoor feeling.
All the furnishing used consists of reused workshop furniture, reinforcing the feeling that the new redesigned space always held its current form.
