|
|
 |
SEMIRAMIS ATHENS, GREECE |
|
|
|
| ARCHITECTURE / INTERIOR DESIGN |
|
| Karim Rashid |
|
|
|
|
|
Athens’ Semiramis Hotel is a prime example of what happens when you give a hot designer like Karim Rashid free reign and control over every aspect of a building and its interior.
Commissioned by art patron Dakis Joannou, the new hotel in the leafy Athens suburb of Kiffisia, is entirely the creation of Karim Rashid. The Egyptian-British industrial designer’s mark is on everything from the slippers under the bed to the place mats on his organically curved tables. Guests entering through the glowing pink glass cube into a lobby, that features a rotating collection of fine art including works by Tim Noble and Sue Webster or Jeff Koons on loan from international art galleries, know they are in store for something radically different than the city’s classic architecture. Bold colour schemes and Rashid’s signature furniture, including his Wavelength Sofa and Swing Chair and not forgetting his bank of black sofas shaped like pouting lips in the lobby, give this hotel its distinct look. Juicy pinks, oranges, greens and yellows make up the hotel’s energising colour scheme, tinting everything from lobby couches to transparent glass partitions in the rooms. A lively lighting concept has been especially commissioned from Focus Lighting in New York under the direction of principal designer Paul Gregory.
Semiramis’ guestrooms, suites and poolside bungalows offer both the use of creative materials (like the opaque glass bathroom wall) and playful design, such as the light-box art installations behind each bed. The designer takes an innovative approach in mixing textures and materials: coloured concrete with rubber floors, for example, or ceramic tiles with metal and epoxy with dark wood. Innovative technology is also a given in Rashid’s 21st century concept. For example, traditional “Do Not Disturb” or “Make Up This Room” signs have been replaced with electronic message boards. Guests can type in personalised messages from the in-room keyboard – Rashid suggests, “Hello, I’m single. Please come in.” |
|
|
