Name: Capanna, Pizzeria / Trattoria
Location: Kolonaki, Athens // Greece
Designed by: k-studio
Photographer: Yiorgos Kordakis
Status: Completed 2011
 
K-studio brings yet another impressive interior design project in the heart of Athens, Greece in the Kolonaki district.  Capanna, an all day Pizzeria/Trattoria located on the corner of two streets, one of which pedestrianized.  Tradition meets modern design with influences of Scandinavian furniture pieces against a minimal backdrop.

The Capanna’s design focused on the experience of eating outside – something common in Athens if you consider that the weather is warm enough and sunny most days, all year round. Therefore the façade needed to be adaptable to the given circumstances, floor to ceiling windows slide upwards merging the interior of the restaurant with the exterior side-walk. With an upward movement, the restaurant spills out onto the pavement, inviting pedestrians to come and dine. The sliding wooden window frames, and the Italian inspired graphics on the façade are homely and alluring as they render the space with the atmosphere of an Italian courtyard.

Once you closely observe the Capanna, you realize that familiar materials add up to that homely and alluring atmosphere which is extended to the interior design. The characteristic French style narrow wooden shutters are the main design element; of course these shutters are not only ‘French’ as their name suggests but are rather European in style and can be widely found in Italy and Greece among other European countries. The vintage-like shutters which prevail throughout the interior design clad the volume of the mezzanine level where the restrooms, kitchen and storage room are conveniently located. Underneath the mezzanine, sits a burning oven and the pizza bar which are enclosed within a travertine stone box that sits in the far corner of the space framing the Pizzaiolo.

A pallet of familiar materials to both Italian and Greek cultures is applied where cement tiles, stucco plaster, travertine stone, blackened steel railings and traditional tiles with a geometric motif of a past era all make up for the backdrop. The floor is laid out in grey cement tiles, but in the double-height area, in an attempt to stress the height of the pizzeria, a geometric motif of patterned cement tiles creates a wide strip that continues onto the adjacent wall. The tiles’ dirty-terracotta colored motif brings a feeling of a vintage-like, past era, feel; however, what changes the tone of the backdrop is the grey stucco plastered walls and ceiling which enclose all the design elements in a minimal envelope. A suspended blackened steel staircase which connects the mezzanine with the ground floor only adds on to the minimal design.

Nonetheless, a modern twist is added to this fusion design with Scandinavian style tables and a remarkable selection of vintage industrial chairs by the Greek based Temporary Showroom of Mr. Alketas Pazis. The furniture adds softness, while the suspended terracotta clay lamps in the double-height area somehow penetrate to the floor with the geometric motif tiling. But what will definitely capture your attention is the mural by mural artist Joanna Burtenshaw – on your way up to the restrooms, Burtenshaw has created a biro drawing which illustrates the process of making fresh pasta, inspired by the traditional design of the restaurant’s tableware.
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The arrangement of purposefully designed elements, domestic resources and materials and the vintage furniture, creates an architecture which balances the bespoke elements, creating a stimulating and sociable atmosphere in a homely environment.