bacchus

Located along Fokionos Negri, one of the liveliest streets in Kypseli, a neighbourhood of Athens whose identity continues to evolve, Bacchus Apartment involved the redesign of two of the most essential domestic spaces within a 100 sqm residence: the kitchen and the bathroom. The challenge was to redefine the character of the apartment through targeted interventions while maintaining a meaningful connection with its existing architectural elements and history. The starting point for the design was a striking mosaic floor depicting Bacchus, the Roman counterpart of Dionysus, located at the entrance to the living room. God of wine, ecstasy, celebration and liberation from convention, Dionysus embodies an unconventional and sensorial approach to life. His presence, together with the yellowish tones of the mosaic, became the conceptual starting point for a playful, bold and colour-driven design language. In the kitchen, the need for generous preparation surfaces and increased storage capacity led to the design of a continuous fitted unit extending along the entire length of the wall. At one end, triangular shelves create a seamless transition towards the existing pantry, which was retained. The composition adapts organically to the irregular geometry of the floor plan, transforming an existing constraint into a defining design feature. Opposite the kitchen, a dining table with rounded corners responds to the geometry of the space while ensuring unobstructed circulation around it. Its terracotta finish and two oversized cylindrical legs lend the piece a sculptural quality, echoing the unconventional and unpredictable nature of Dionysian symbolism. The kitchen cabinetry was finished in a butter-yellow tone inspired by the entrance mosaic. Dionysus marble was selected for the countertop, a choice that extends beyond its symbolic association with the project's name. Widely used in the kitchens of Athens' apartment buildings during the 1960s, this marble reflects the material culture of the period. Having been removed during a previous renovation, its reintroduction serves as a reference to the apartment's original era and construction heritage. Similarly, the kitchen's dull grey flooring was replaced with large-format yellow terrazzo tiles, recalling the mosaic floors that characterised many Athenian apartments of the period but had not survived in this particular residence. A vintage pendant light in complementary tones defines the dining area and completes the composition. The terrazzo flooring continues through the corridor and into the bathroom, creating a visual connection between the different spaces. In the bathroom, small-format glossy tiles in lime yellow and white reflect the available light, bringing brightness and a playful character to a space that receives no direct natural light and relies solely on an air shaft for ventilation and daylight. The washbasin vanity, featuring a rounded corner, echoes the geometry of the kitchen table, while a circular wall sconce in terracotta adds warmth to the lighting scheme. Within the walk-in shower, built-in niches finished in the same tiles provide integrated storage for toiletries. Curved forms, vivid colours, vintage lighting, terrazzo, Dionysus marble and small-format glossy tiles come together to create a contemporary interpretation of the aesthetic of Athens' 1960s apartment buildings. Rather than approaching renovation as a complete erasure of the past, the project reintroduces elements associated with the original era through new uses, chromatic contrasts and contemporary design gestures. Bacchus Apartment thus proposes an approach to renovation as an act of continuity: an attempt to preserve the memory of a space and its time, not through nostalgic reproduction, but through a creative reinterpretation of its architectural identity. Photography:  Vasso Paraschi