Conversion of the Spierer tobacco warehouse into a five-star hotel

The Spierer or Austrian-Greek Warehouse has been characterized as:
A “Listed Monument” by the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works and as a “Historical Listed Monument” b y the Ministry of Culture.
Exterior: the building was renovated as it had been constructed, without any change whatsoever. The only difference is that in the place of the lift, which had been added later, openings were created for windows, as they were before, to restore the construction’s symmetry. Moreover, a lot of emphasis was placed on preserving and reconstructing the patterns – frames that decorated the building’s openings.
Interior: the entire load-bearing structure (wood) and floors remained as they were, after being preserved and coated with a suitable varnish for fire protection, which did not affect the wood’s colour. Wherever necessary, the damaged wood was replaced without altering the building’s character.
On the building’s ground area, the footpath that links the hotel with the two lakes of the park has been reconstructed.
Parallel to this footpath and inside the building, all along the side was created a semi-outdoor passageway/gallery, the height of which also extends to the first floor in order to function as a roofed extension of the footpath. On the one side of this semi-outdoor passageway visitors may see the load-bearing perimeter stone wall, and on the other side a transparent frameless glass, which essentially divides the interior from the exterior, and through which visitors may see the section of the wooden load-bearing structure.
Works were also carried out on the building’s roof. It was entirely replaced with a new but similar to the old one, with high-quality materials in order to reinforce the load-bearing structure for earthquake protection and insulation.
Two new stairways were constructed to serve as escape routes.
The plan and arrangement of the rooms and common areas were based on the building’s morphology and location. For a better view towards the lake, the rooms of the 2nd and 3rd floors were only constructed on the lake’s side, while on the 4th floor and on the loft, the rooms face both sides.
When walking the building, everyone, not just the hotel customers are able to have a full image of the load-bearing structure, and can feel the building’s original function and architecture.
Its total surface is 7.500 square meters.
The project was delivered in collaboration with 3SK Stylianidis Architects in 2015.