El Greco
Hotel

Architectural Design: creative SA
Decoration design: creative SA
Construction: Creative SA
Location: the Old Town of Chania
Study Period: August 2021- November 2022
Construction period: November 2022- April 2022

Type: Hotels

El Greco Hotel

ElGreco Hotel is located in the western part of the old town of Chania, in the historic district of Topanas, with its main frontage on Theotokopoulou Street. It is a three-storey building with basement and roofgarden, with a surface area of 617,20 sqm. In total, our study involved the complete renovation and remodeling -interior and exterior- of the hotel, which is developed on 5 levels and includes 17 rooms (double, triple and quadruple), a reception area and a restaurant.

The clear influence of the Cretan painter ElGreco on the aesthetics and the central idea of the hotel's design, determined to a great extent the final result. The main objective was for the hotel to recreate the quirky and evocative atmosphere of ElGreco's paintings with art-inspired interiors. Each room has been designed based on a specific ElGreco painting and is characterised by a dominant colour, which is subtly reflected in elements of the furniture, such as the colour of the headboard, the mirror, etc.

The central motif of the hotel, which is used in interior and exterior decorative elements (hangers, partition) and furniture details (sofa, headboard, wardrobes) is inspired by the structure of the weave of the canvas whose threads create rhomboidal shapes, of the mantelillo type, which was widely used in Venetian painting, especially in El Greco's paintings.

In terms of design philosophy, the hotel uses semi-circular elements, reminiscent of the painted chandeliers used by ElGreco. Reinforcing the central concept, the headboard of each room has been constructed with a special wood panel that recalls the painter's brushstrokes.

The main elements of ElGreco's work, strong shadows and rich folds, were deconstructed and used in the design approach of the hotel and are particularly evident in the reception area, with decorative elements such as the perimeter ceiling frame and the choice of lighting.

Based on these elements, the movement of visitors to the floors of the hotel was also approached through the use of perforated partitions around the central staircase, creating a unique experience of movement and the transition from public to private, the empty and the full, light and shadow. The route is completed with an apocalyptic view of the sea as the visitor is led to the roof of the hotel.