Pallas
Philocaly

Architectural study: creative SA
Decoration design: creative SA
Construction: Creative SA
Location: the Old Town of Chania
Study Period: November - December 2020
Construction period: May - June 2021
Area: 200sq.m.

Project photos: Inglelandi Digital Agency

PALLAS PHILOCALY

The project that won the 1st Prize in the category "Projects in progress - Store interior design" in the Interior Design Awards 2021 competition.

The building is located on Akti Tombazi, on the coastal front of the Old Town of Chania. The front of the building is in contact with the port area and the south side of the building is in contact with the Kastelli hill. The building is a monument, as it is more than 100 years old, based on photographic documentation. It was built in the early 1900s on the site of a large oblong building (Venetian armeria) which was destroyed or demolished.

It is a two-storey tile-roofed stone building with morphological elements of neoclassical architecture and a symmetrical facade. It is assumed that the original use of the building was for storage on the ground floor and the main rooms on the first floor, as the shore at that time was not large and during the winter months, the sea entered the ground floors of the coastal front. The building is owned by the Public Real Estate Company SA and on the floor today are the offices of the 1st Port Department of the Venetian port of Chania. The re-use and renovation study concerns only the ground floor.

The ground floor consists of three rectangular spaces, with openings only on the north side of the entrance. The central entrance leads to a space on either side of which are the other two rectangular spaces, of approximately similar dimensions. In each room, there are two identical windows, creating symmetry in the view.

The roof of the ground floor has been constructed with a special combined technique of iron and brick (jack arch). Iron girders at equal distance from each other are joined with brick vaults and the gaps are filled with binder material and the floor of the floor is built on top. This technique is very common in Southern Greece and was developed after 1860, mainly at the instigation of Ernesto Chiller. The materials were usually imported, mainly from Belgium and England.

In the centre of the two side rooms there is the later addition of reinforced concrete columns and beams, a type of intervention that is estimated to be no more than 30 years old (around 1990). Their addition was probably done to avoid oscillations of the interstitial space.

The aim of the architectural design and the decoration design was to transform the space into a full meal catering business and the sale of goods. Entering the building one finds oneself in the reception area. To its right is a tasting and wine-tasting area and a wine cellar. In the centre, the bakery and the oven are placed. On the left, the kitchen and the sale of goods are placed. For the optimal operation of the space, the two side openings of the internal stone walls are widened. The study proposes an intervention that respects the historicity of the building, highlighting it, as it is currently an auxiliary space not accessible to the general public.

The purpose of the decoration study is to highlight the structural elements of the building through a harmonious combination of old and new materials and techniques. The furnishings and mobile equipment are special structures, detachable and all work together as a single element that simply rests on the existing historic shell. The materials used are mainly mosaic, marble and solid wood with bronze details.

For the wall cladding, it is recommended to use beige plaster and terracotta cement mortar, separated by a black marble fillet. The partitions of the utility rooms are made of deplused sheet metal, the bar face is made of carved natural stone and the chimneys are made of cast iron with bronze details. Finally, the luminaires proposed are made of glass, metal and plaster.