Located on Charitos Street in Athens, Crini & Sophia represents a Gallery space for the display of different Greek designer products. The 64 square meter space is elevated from the street level and has a sloping display window that gives the feeling of “leaning” over the passerby and invites them to look inside. This creates a particularly theatrical condition.
The idea of the renovation focuses on the exploitation and intensification of this spatial theatricality and on the creation of a kind of stage capable of embracing and showcasing the gallery’s exhibits.
The process of exhibition and presentation of goods is perceived through a large oak “wall”, consisting of elongated shelves with pivoting wicker doors and a background of colorful fabrics. The changing scenarios of the open, semi-open and closed elements of the wall create the diverse backdrop of the exhibition, while the intense geometry of the furniture and its size in relation to the scale of the space adds additional theatricality.
The new marble floor of the gallery also works in this direction. The design of the floor and the off-scale, oxymoronic rhombus with curved edges adds depth to the space and relates to the wall.
In addition to creating a functional exhibition space, the feeling of “familiarity” further played a key role in the choice of materials and colors, with warm lighting and porous, soft materials dominating the space. The presence of wood is strong everywhere, while the green marble that is often found in the interior of Athenian houses and the warm red marble intensify the feeling of a house that hosts household objects.
Due to the elevated nature of the space, the back view is particularly visible from the street level. For this reason, the once closed window is revealed and uncovered. In front of the window, bleachers are placed, mirroring the relationship of viewing – a spectacle that exists between the facade of the gallery and the street. In this way visitors take on the role of protagonists on the center of the stage.
