Page 148 - ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL 2022

ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL
architecture

D espite his work in hospitality, he still sees

himself as primarily a theatre director. He
stages experiences and explores the roles peo-
ple take on in their lives. Working on the new,
amazing hotels of the Myconian Collection
Hotels & Resorts on Mykonos is his way of
bringing about the spaces he has always wanted to have
available to him; spaces as the ones he designed for Panoptis
Escape at Elia beach and O by Myconian Collection that can
take their surroundings and their guests further.
What are the key ingredients of true luxury in travelling?
The greatest privilege has to do with the destinations – not
about choosing the place but about choosing what that
place means. Any place you find yourself can be a finish
line or a starting line – compensation or inspiration. The
defining moment of luxury in travel is bringing the two to-
gether, about turning your travels into a revolving door, an
experience so strong that it moves you to any direction you
choose. You might be travelling to celebrate an achievement,
or because you are gathering up the strength to go after one.
Ideally, the two should not feel different, because you will
always be getting ready to reach a higher peak, and you will
always deserve to be rewarded for it.
How does interior design affect a traveller’s experience?
It has to do with that revolving moment. Interior design
must make it easier for people to see clearly in all directions,
to choose their path among many. At the same time, it must
help them to be inspired by what is unique in the specific
time and place they find themselves. It is a fine line, like the
horizon. Interior design must make you feel good about
where you are, but also remind you not to stay still. It has
to be the perfect match between the real and the possible,
and it must allow guests to break on through to whichever
side works best for them.
You’ve done a lot of high-end hospitality work. What do
you consider most important in such projects?
I think of space as a body. You know, nobility has always
been symbolized by the body – think “blue blood”. That is
luxury, and how I see hospitality. It is the blue blood running
through the veins of a living organism. It can accommodate
a noble mind and a restless soul. So I make up hospitable
spaces that allow luxury to run wild in their veins. I make
Interior Designer up bodies. When guests live in them, I want them to feel like
they are being reborn into the royalty of leisure, that they
can bring together their own kingdom. Sure, it is also about
objects, placement, colour, patterns, textures – all the things
Extraordinaire that make up an aesthetic. But to aestheticise literally means
“to feel”. So it is ultimately a kingdom of the senses. That is
what my spaces, my bodies, are for: To be felt, to be used as
the senses that explore and arouse the possibilities of space
and the people in it.
Acclaimed professional Antonis Kalogridis How did you combine the architecture of a Cycladic is-
land with your contemporary style to bring them together
sets trends and drives the way forward, into reality?
The Cyclades are unique in that nature here dominates
sharing his insight into what GIANNIS DIMOTSIS Antonis Kalogridis and Vangelis Takos through subtlety. Elytis, the Greek Nobel laureate in Liter-
HIGH-END TEAM
ature, has said that if you were to deconstruct Greece, you
design hospitality luxury truly means. redefine the aesthetics of Mykonos would be left with an olive tree, a vine and a boat – “which
through the complete remodelling
of the Myconian Collection Hotels
at their favourite Elia Beach and
recently at Ornos Beach on Mykonos..
Interview by ELSA SOIMIRI