Refurbishment of the conference room «SIOTIS»

Refurbishment of the conference room «SIOTIS», of the offices of the Representation of the European Commission in Athens.

The renovation of the conference room «SIOTIS», in the basement of a building in the center of Athens, came from the need to create a larger space in order to accommodate not less than 70 people, covering the requirements of a modern conference room with translation booths, good conditions for heating, air conditioning, ventilation and necessary facilities for audio and video.

The principles of the design was laid essentially by the negative points of the area which was the following: a total low height of 2650mm, the four beams across the hall, which reduce the height to 2250mm, the two big columns into the room and the complete absence of a day lighting.

Due to low height, an inclined wall constructed along the long side of the area to the ceiling and in continuation with it, a second suspended ceiling constructed vertically to the wall. The suspended ceiling covers almost the entire meeting table, interrupted by the beams and rips the translator’s booth. Such a single wall-ceiling construction gives the opportunity for adequate lighting of the conference table. A panel desk is located at the left of the narrow side of the area and the translator booth at the right side. The kitchenette is placed after the translation booth, which has access from the conference room and the storage room.

The project combines new, high quality and environmentally friendly materials.
The floor is covered with gres porcelain stoneware tiles with dimensions 1200X1200mm .The translator booth and the sliding doors of the kitchenette is covered with “modulatus”, a material composed of natural and plant materials with a thermoplastic polymer under a technologically production process. The inclined structure of the wall and the ceiling is covered with OSB, painted in white. The conference table is designed as a modular of 16 folding pieces, in order to get different shapes or to be completely removed from the room.
The awarded with compasso D’ oro 2011, cantilever chair Myto in two colors black and white for the panel desk, is selected and placed at the conference room «SIOTIS»

Because of the low height, the ceiling and the walls are painted at the same color of the floor (grey), giving a homogeneous image. As a result, the conference room gives the illusion that has more space and a higher ceiling.

Representation of the European Commission in Athens

Project architect – site supervision: Maria Paraskevopoulou
Mechanical engineer: George Chatziaggelou
3d modeling designer: Aspa Goutmeni