Aoria Estate Old Port

Rehabilitation of a venetian ground level in Chania Old Town, Crete

The subject of the study is the ground floor of a Venetian building that has undergone subsequent interventions and additions during the 1950s and 1960s. The space originally included storage areas and access to the upper floors, which house tourist rooms. The purpose of the study was to create a reception area with storage spaces on the entrance side and a room at the back.

A key gesture of the public space is the diagonal layout that creates space for a small seating area at the reception while simultaneously freeing up the intermediate pointed arch so that it is visible to anyone entering the building, or even to those looking from the street.

The arch, which marks the boundary between the reception area and the room, is filled, to the extent allowed by the more recent interventions, with glass surfaces that allow for indirect lighting—whether natural or artificial—depending on the occupant’s preference. Light is a crucial factor for the room, which has only a small window overlooking an enclosed courtyard. As a result, the room is designed with a construction of semi-transparent partitions that allow light to pass through the bathroom and small kitchen areas into the room.

This small and isolated room was designed with simple lines and extensive use of oak wood, as well as quiet colour tones that add warmth to the space, alongside sandblasted glass that creates luminous surfaces. The reception area follows the same spirit, with the addition of a large surface of Dionysus marble on the reception desk.

Team members Antonis Dysseakis, Nikos Fournaris, Yannis Prosoparis
EM study inDetail Architecture
Construction Vaggelis Vaggeloglou, inDetail Architecture
Construction oversight inDetail Architecture
Interior design inDetail Architecture
Lighting study inDetail Architecture
Photography Giorgos Anastasakis/SOUTH space for photography
3D visualizations inDetail Architecture
Plot area 48,60 m²
Total area 48,60 m²
Design year 2021
Construction completed 2022

Work /