Scala Vinoteca

Athens, Greece

Photo © George Fakaros, Natalia Tsoukala

Architects: Kokkinou + Kourkoulas Architects & Associates

Location: Anagnostopoulou Str., Athens, Greece
Year: 2009

Scala Vinoteca is a small restaurant, 100 sq. m., situated on a pedestrian stepped street in a residential part of the centre of Athens.

It is part of a steep undulating landscape located adjacent to one of the few green hills in the city giving it characteristics of a less urban area. The main construction materials are steel sheets and wood. They are used as floor and ceiling, tables and chairs, lighting fixtures and bar. These two materials construct the space of the restaurant in their “raw” state; no paint and no color, emphasizing their materiality. This same concept is applied outside, in the small front yard, in order to give the feeling of continuation between the inside and the outside, allowing the boundary to disappear. A mirror, placed opposite the entrance, creates the illusion of a back yard, giving a sense of expanding space. The front door, constructed with steel and glass, when open, slides and disappears within the façade. On your way in, the left wall consists of a steel wine cellar, which filters light through the bottles. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant is based on the dialogue between wood and iron - inside and outside – direct and indirect light.