Divercity Architects Trac

Project: Hotel, conversion & extension
Location: Monemvasia, Greece
Client: Aighis
Project Status: Complete, 2010
Collaborators: Apostolos Parpairis & Partners, architects
Maria Nikolakopoulou, architect
Sophia Vantaraki, space consultant
Contractor: Nostos
Photos: Cathy Cunliffe

The European Hotel Design Awards, Conversion
of an Existing Building to Hotel Use and Restaurant,
shortlisted 2010 (UK)

In a 13th century manor house, this hotel is camouflaged
among olive and orange groves near the medieval
fortress of Monemvassia. The sandstone structure
is irrigated by an ancient cistern, the hotel’s namesake
and focal point of the design concept. The outdoor
restaurant is suspended on a cantilevered platform
above the reservoir. Running water snakes through
the slate and concrete spa before tumbling down
the hillside, spilling into a dramatic
asymmetrical swimming pool.

The five-hundred-year old building spans Byzantine,
Ottoman, Venetian and modern Greek influences.
References to this layered history are incorporated
in different room types, from vaulted stone ceilings
to etched ‘lace’ walls, lampshades and headboards.
In the Byzantine suites, bathrooms and wardrobes
are concealed behind a triptych, inlaid
with photographs instead of icons. Built on different
levels to ensure privacy, the 27 rooms are decorated
in shades of grey and olive green, a natural palette
that mirrors the rural setting.