Art Gallery in Thissio, Athens
140 m²
Design - Construction 2008
The Eleni Koronaiou Art Gallery was relocated to a neoclassical building in Thissio, Athens. The most important priority for the owner was the creation of a generic, minimal space, appropriate to host a wide range of artwork, including paintings, drawings, sculpture and photography. Bearing numerous apertures and decorative elements, the shell of the neoclassical building was hardly an appropriate host for the artwork.
The design therefore focused on creating an independent white shell within the existing space that could act at all times as a uniform and neutral base aiming at highlighting the exhibited art pieces, rather than competing with them.
The gallery consists of two major exhibition spaces juxtaposed at different levels, connected by a wide opening. The stairs connecting the two levels of the gallery run along the full width of the opening and were created by folding a sheet of steel into three steps. This, along with the wooden floor and the white surfaces of the walls and ceiling were the only structural elements used throughout the gallery, thus emphasizing the uniformity and continuity of the space.