Manaus bar

George Fakaros

• Architects

Manaus is a Brazilian city sited in the heart of the Amazon tropical rainforest. Detached from the rest of the country it is characterized by its distinctive 50’s modernist architecture with exposed reinforced concrete and steel construction as well as colourful stained-glass windows.

photo_credit George Fakaros — George Fakaros

‘Manaus bar’ is sited in the area of Glyfada, Athens, Greece and is the result of the fruitful collaboration between the architect Eleftherios Ampatzis and two brothers who left Greece long time ago, to move to Brazil and Italy in order to work as teachers. A few years ago, and after a very long period of traveling and experiencing different places and cultures, they decided to move back to their homeland and open a bar at their childhood area. They envisioned of a space that would operate as a melting pot of music and cultures and become a vessel to faraway places and time periods. Stories about the city Manaus, secluded in the heart of the jungle, inspired and directed the design approach of the project.

The exact location where the ‘urban Manaus bar‘ would take place, was along the central avenue of the area, and the materials used to make it happen were concrete, rough iron, iroko wood, cement as well as stained glass.

Just like all colours at the rainforest are in constant flux according to the season, temperature and time of day, at ‘Manaus bar’ colours perpetually change, according to the position and saturation of the sun, as light passes through the stained-glass windows. During daytime multi-coloured light floods the interior, whereas at night the effect is inverted and coloured light rays project to the outside.

The ground floor glass facade opens entirely to the front planted courtyard during warm months, while shuts during wintertime.

‘Manaus bar’ stands as a multilayered beacon of light and music in the heart of the Athenian urban jungle, attempting to bring together people, sounds and flavours from around the globe.