A modern interpretation of vernacular Cycladic architecture was adopted in the redesign of Hotel Andronikos in Mykonos, creating unconventional and unexpected spaces that are familiar and deeply Greek at the same time.
Mykonos is one of most famous Greek islands. It has a unique natural environment and a unique architecture. Organic whitewashed cubes with rounded edges, curved walls that divide the landscape and paved narrow alleys are some of the endless characteristics of Mykonian architecture that has evolved through centuries to resist in rather hostile climatic conditions comprising strong winds, drought, intense sunlight and humidity.
The Cocoon Suites were conceived as a modern Mykonian room, using forms and the essence of Mykonos. The interior is a compact mass constructed of irregular unaligned walls, with a 3-dimensional feel to them as they are distorted, built upwards and slanted inwards. The furniture is designed following the same principles, as the objects seem to be attached to the walls, creating the impression that the building is erupting from the island’s rocky land. Every element plays off one another. Budget had to remain low but, on the contrary, the feeling and the sense emerging from the rooms had to be extravagant. KLab Architecture aimed at creating a sexy but pure, a vibrant but calm, a modern but classic room that would include all these juxtapositions and paradoxes offering to the user an overwhelming experience. Plaster, bamboo canes, plasterboard, glass, pebbles, mirrors and cement-based flooring were used in unconventional ways and combinations.
Lighting the room consists in a game of light and shadow that reveals the sculpting force of the space. Illumination is hidden most of the time and different lighting scenarios create a different atmosphere depending on the occupant’s preferences. Light creates a sense of serenity and intimacy, as it comes through the bamboos, under the furniture and through the reflections of the polygonal mirror.
In Blue Suites, KLab Architecture kept many elements used in the Cocoon Suites (form fluidity, use of natural materials), but gave them their own separate identity through the use of blue color. The architects created an unconventional and unexpected landscape, that is at the same time familiar and deeply Greek. Drawing inspiration from the Greek landscape, the different shades of blue, and from artists such as Picasso and Mattisse, the spaces were colored in an attempt to discover new correlations that offer the occupants a new spatial experience.
Finally, the idea of the built-in furniture used in both the Blue and the Coccoon Suites was also used in the Sky Bar. The furniture’s design is aimed to give a dynamic fluidity to the new space and becomes one with the floor and walls. The tables were designed to follow the space’s aesthetic.
