Page 63 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION MAG 2019

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design features. Perfect integration of the
architecture into natural settings, with an
emphasis on blurring the lines between inner
and outer spaces allows guests to live a holistic
experience that speaks to their soul and will
become a milestone for them. Discretion,
space, understated, refined, place, timeless
and choreographed art are the future of luxury
resort destinations.

How did you combine the architecture of a Cyclades
island with your contemporary style to bring them
together into reality?
Playing with the boundaries between the locale
and our contemporary lifestyle has been very
exciting and rewarding. Especially so because
I have been immersed in the cycladic culture
first as a young visitor, and later as an architect.
Being respectful of the true values of a place is
for me the cornerstone of every design or idea.
Working with the amazing Daktylides family
on some of their properties has allowed me to
express these values in my own way through a
careful combination of modern and contextual
features. Their very openness to such ideas
has allowed me to push this experimentation
further. White is the predominant colour
but it’s not only about that. Ι seek a more
rooted, elegant and respectful approach to
the locale, reinterpreted with subtle minimal
interventions, which focuses on guest experience
and comfort rather than on flashy ideas that
will look good on Instagram today but will be
completely outdated in a year or two. Owners
are spending more and more on their hotels to
ensure guest satisfaction. Our responsibility
as designers is to be extremely cautious that
such spending is carefully allocated within the
property, in a way that will give them good
long-term return via timeless design ideas.
gALAL How does interior design affect a traveller’s What has been your most memorable travel
experience?
MAhMoUd Interior design needs to translate this sense of experience that you classify as true luxury?
place into choreographed storytelling, where
living in an African lodge in a game reserve
the guest will feel immersed in the locale with for five days. Although the lodge felt spartan, it
gm arcHiTecTs very careful attention to the details that will did have the right attention to detail that made
make the experience memorable and exclusive. the stay memorable and amazingly comfortable.
Its intimate visual and physical connection to
You’ve done a lot of high-end hospitality work. What the exceptional nature around, the natural
do you consider most important in such projects? materials locally sourced, the spacious rooms,
In your view, what are the key ingredients of true Ι travel the world designing exceptional the complete sense of privacy and being all on
luxury in travelling? destinations for the extremely demanding your own, the comfort features being readily
Today, it is all about experiencing real escapism, luxury traveller. It’s not about glitter and bling available when needed but not “in your face”
with a true sense of place in understated comfort anymore. The comfort of a space has more and the discreet yet very refined service all
and perfect service. Traveller expectations importance today than clutter and elaborate made this stay quite exceptional.
have shifted from materialistic luxury features
to experiencing a place in comfort, with a
tHe ArcHitect of tHe myconiAn dreAm
constant connection to the location’s culture, Acclaimed architect Galal Mahmoud has designed Myconian Collection 14, Mitropoleos Str., Mykonos Town
T.: +30 22890 77949
history, lifestyle and arts. properties at Mykonos Town and the Ambassador at Platis Gialos. E: karatmykonos@gmail.com | fb: Karat mykonos | insta: Karatmykonos

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