Ioannis Despotopoulos – also known internationally as Jan Despo – is one of Greece’s most prominent modernists, widely acclaimed for one of the capital’s best kept secrets, the Athens Conservatoire – a distinct, linear concrete structure in the heart of the city’s centre.
Designed in 1959 and built in the 1970s, the iconic modernist piece is raised on pillars, which create a beautiful grid externally, and hosts ample space for study and performance within - yet unfortunately whole areas of the building were never fully completed, and the building remained unfinished for some 40 years, due to lack of funding.
Enter atelier66, founded by Dimitris and Suzanna Antonakakis, and tense architecture network – led by Tilemachos Andrianopoulos . The team has been working on an extensive study of the building’s upper level and its Aris Garoufalis Hall, after securing the much needed funds by the foundation Friends of Aliki Vatikioti for Music and the Arts. Their labour of love is finally ready to open its doors to the public today.
The architects stress that the project revolves around the preservation of the original design's spirit, working with the historical plans to restore, complete and enhance Despotopoulos’ architectural intention. ‘The Hall suffered by wear and tear, and a series of random, dull alterations. Its inherent splendour remained nevertheless latent. Execution drawings of the side walls were identified in Despo’s archives and revealed a brilliant composition of acoustic panels that was never realised. Adjustments were necessary but our effort was not to betray the spirit and the modernist supremacy of the work,’ says Andrianopoulos.
Working with iroko wood for the flooring, and tinted and painted plywood for the wall panels, the team created a considerate interior that feels contemporary and has been acoustically perfected – thanks to the use of Sto sound absorbing panels - while at the same time remains true to its original designer’s vision, helping a much loved architectural icon get one step closer to full completion.
Lovingly designed by atelier66 and tense architecture network, the project was based on the original architect's intention. Photography: Tilemachos Andrianopoulos
The project restores, completes and enhances Despotopoulos' vision. Photography: Tilemachos Andrianopoulos
The architects worked with iroko wood on the floors, and plywood for the side panels. Photography: Tilemachos Andrianopoulos
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the TENSE Architecture Network website and Atelier 66 website
-
Maserati unveils the Fuoriserie By Hiroshi Fujiwara MC20 Cielo modelHiroshi Fujiwara, the so-called Godfather of Streetwear, lends his talents to Maserati’s in-house bespoke division, creating a stylish take on the company’s open-topped supercar
-
Diffar is a new Japanese hair brand making perfume oil at the foot of Mount FujiDiffar, a newly founded Japanese beauty brand, creates perfume oils for hair in its Mount Fuji laboratory that are set to travel the world
-
‘Architecture for Dogs is about exploring the joy and meaning behind design’: ADI’s latest exhibition celebrates the human-canine bondAs a showcase of designs for dogs opens in Milan, we find out why inviting our four-legged friends into exhibitions benefits everybody.
-
A breezy Greek island retreat lets the outdoors inOpen to the elements, an island retreat in Corfu by Invisible Studio was designed to suit the local climate, using metal mesh screens rather than windows
-
A Corfu house balances local vernacular and 21st-century minimalismCorfu House, a sensitive and minimalist holiday home, has been recently completed on the Greek island as a collaboration between architects Tony Wynbourne, Georgios Apostolopoulos and engineer Makis Gisdakis
-
Piraeus Tower is a Greek high-rise icon revived through sustainable strategiesThe restoration of the Piraeus Tower is completed in Greece, revealing a revived façade by local architecture studio PILA
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneerBack in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
-
Tour House D in Athens, where interiors are peachy keenDesigned by Cometa Architects, House D in Athens is full of curvy, colourful character
-
All hail the power of concrete architecture‘Concrete Architecture’ surveys more than a century’s worth of the world’s most influential buildings using the material, from brutalist memorials to sculptural apartment blocks
-
Three Object Apartment embraces raw concrete honesty in the heart of AthensThree Object Apartment by DeMachinas is a raw concrete home in Athens, which confidently celebrates its modernist bones
-
Giovanni Michelucci’s dramatic concrete church in the Italian DolomitesGiovanni Michelucci’s concrete Church of Santa Maria Immacolata in the Italian Dolomites is a reverently uplifting memorial to the victims of a local disaster
