Flux Office designed Bios terrace bar downtown Athens situated in a mid-war era industrial building, originally designed in 1935 by architect Athanassios Demiris, aiming to respect and emphasize its distinctive character through the particular use of materials and finishes as well as the overall architectural expression.

-text by the authors

Α project at a mid-war era industrial building, designed in 1935, by architect Athanassios Demiris, originally intended as a leaf spring factory, with workshop and office spaces, now housing “Bios” cultural & creative space. On the building’s rooftop, at the area previously occupied by an old laundry room, a storage area and a stairwell, FLUX office introduces a unified space, housing Bios terrace bar.

 

Through its particular use of materials, finishes and architectural expression, the design’s main objective was to respect and emphasize the distinctive character of the original building, and the era it belonged to.

The large openings all around, overlooking the surrounding terrace, feature steel industrial windows; the plaster walls have bush hammered finishes and the floor continues the terrazzo, which can also be found on the lower levels of the building. The new space respects the outline of the old service spaces, but has a looser way of relating to the roof terrace.

The main element that unifies and defines the space is a new metal and glass roof, which echoes the factory roofs of the mid-war era, and gives the space its particular semi-outdoor feeling.

On the walls, whenever possible, the old coating has been preserved, allowing to the damages accumulated over time to be visible and thus contribute to the unique aesthetic of the terrace bar. On the floor, the new design’s interventions are kept visible and distinct, showing the traces of the walls that used to define the old service spaces. All the furnishing used consists of reused workshop furniture, reinforcing the feeling that the new redesigned space always held its current form, always present in this exact way.

Drawings

Facts & Credits
Project title  Bios Hub
Architecture  Flux Office – Thanassis Demiris, Efthymios Dougkas, Eva Manidaki
Typology  Bar, Cultural spaces
Location  Athens, Greece
Client  Bios Hub
Area  70 sq.m.
Design date  2018
Completion date  2019
Photography  Stavros Habakis


See, also, the renovation of a loft apartment located in a former workshop space in City Hall Square, Athens by FLUX office, here!


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