Page 159 - ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL 2022

ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL
architecture

YIORGOS KORDAKIS

OPEN PLAN BOHEMIAN LUXURY
Awarded private residence Plane House was built on the island of Skiathos. K-Studio’s design aimed to take advantage AHEAD awarded as Best Resort in Europe, Domes Zeen Chania, a Luxury Collection Resort, Crete, was described
of the typical Greek summer by merging internal and external spaces. by the judges as a ‘standout project with a true sense of place’.

developed an analysis methodology that responds to the client’s requirements What do they enjoy the most? “Our clients are looking for personal expression”, to take note of, privacy is expressed as choice – having the luxury to choose when
“without imposing the design identity of the office”. Dimitris comments. “This is the real luxury when you are building your house: to "Personalization, you will be among others and when you will be alone. “In the dining projects we
One of the first questions is about whether this methodology can result in the cli- make it bespoke, customized to your needs. A strong design viewpoint and high currently have underway, we aim to offer both isolation and connection with oth-
ent’s requirements clashing with K-studio’s requirements. “If their requirement standard of aesthetics, when applied repeatedly, cannot be considered exclusive or designing something ers”. In dining, in general, the most noticeable difference to the previous decade
has a pronounced personal element as part of a project with authentic character, premium. Personalization, designing something exclusively for someone specif- has to do with the product itself. “A bar or a restaurant doesn’t just offer food or
we follow it very closely, even if it doesn’t fall in line with the aesthetic of our work. ic, constitutes real luxury.” Dimitris stresses that these customers’ choices aren’t exclusively for someone drink anymore. To patrons, the complete experience of the venue is important.
After all, this process is fascinating to us”, stresses Dimitris. driven by costs but by how much a proposal expresses their vision. This discussion The experience of being there and listening, smelling, seeing, feeling”, says Dimitris
What kind of briefs they receive from clients when they take on the design of pri- of luxury naturally leads us to privacy – a once underrated concept which social Karampatakis. “It is a holistic process. Instead of designing a menu in order to add
vate residencies in Greece and abroad? “For winter homes, one main consideration media and the speed at which everything moves now has brought to the fore as specific, constitutes it to the space, you design the space alongside the menu, the sound, the details…”
is the location of the ‘hearth’ – in other words, the source of comfort and heat, and an imperative need. Beyond materials, colors, textures and forms, what is the biggest trend in design at
the place to cook. In summer homes, connecting interior with exterior spaces is “The idea of isolation as an expression of luxury is something we have been work- real luxury." the moment? “We are all beautiful”, Dimitris replies. “Access to social media and
our clients’ most common request – ensuring the interior is experienced as a con- ing on a lot lately. Sometimes, in order to have the luxury of privacy, you need to the sheer speed at which culture and aesthetic can travel from one place on Earth
tinuation or extension of the exterior. For example, placing a bedroom, a kitchen be in the middle of nowhere. It is impossible to have privacy where you can be to another bring out a polyphony”, he remarks, adding that what stands out is
or a bathroom outside. Connecting these spaces is a characteristic, in essence, of easily found. Therefore, luxury to some might mean a place in the middle of the personal style. “Everyone has value, and everything is valuable”. 
residential architecture design.” But what do customers look for in a luxury home? desert”. As for dining, an area where the evolution of design through time is easy k-studio.gr

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