blueblack

Part of the famous ‘Golden Triangle of Art’ in Madrid, the Thyssen Museum  is the one I fell in love with during my extended stay in Spain. Each visit inside its majestic 18th-century building, the former townhouse of the Dukes of Villahermosa, feels like going to an art history lesson. Wandering through its 1,000 paintings, spanning the history of art from the 13th to the 20th century, one can admire a work by El Greco and Caravaggio and a second later be enchanted by Willem de Kooning’s colors and Jackson Pollock’s unique style.

Athina Triantafyllou

(Founder & Design Director)

The product of Pritzker-prize winning architect Jean Nouvel’s
unique vision, Louvre Abu Dhabi is an impressive modern museum surrounded by the Arabian Gulf’s waters. Its 55 rectangular buildings are covered by a specially designed metal dome, consisting of 7,850 geometric stars of various sizes, to allow natural light to penetrate, simulating a ‘rain of light’. Its collection, presented across 6,400 square meters of galleries, includes ancient archaeological findings, decorative arts, neoclassical sculptures, paintings by modern masters and contemporary installations. The Louvre Abu Dhabi’s strong connection to Paris is evident in the 300 exhibits on display from the Louvre and other prestigious French museums.

Maria Tsamasfyrou

(Business Development Manager)

The Daniel Libeskind designed building is distinguished by an emblematic monumentality. At the same time, it is a composition of paths and spaces that lead to a profoundly spiritual experience for the visitor. Through it, the very concept of the museum is re-approached. The space feels like a composition of fragments and the path through all the stages of mourning one experiences to reach the acceptance of the loss and the collective trauma. A visit to the Jewish Museum  can be intense as what is sought through the movement in the building is to meet the essence of the tragedy of the Holocaust.

Neli Koutsandrea

(Architect)

Designed by Zaha Hadid, MAXXI is a showcase of stunning modern art. Located on a former military barracks site, the late architect designed it “like an ode to the multiple layers of history on which Rome was built”. Regarding the building’s interior, thin concrete beams and glass coatings have been placed on the roof, allowing natural light penetration. The stairs with the linear lighting are impressive, leading the visitors to the museum’s third level, ending in the large window with a view of the city.

Maria Gialesa

(Junior Architect)

The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is one of the oldest and most important museums in Greece, and among the most famous museums in Europe. It houses representative artefacts from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum prides itself for its unique Minoan collection, which includes the masterpieces of Minoan art. It is rightly considered as the Museum of Minoan Culture par excellence.
This beautiful museum is in the town center; it was designed by the architect Patroklos Karantinos and was built between 1935 and 1958 on a site previously occupied by the Venetian monastery of Saint-Francis. The ruins of the monastery, destroyed by an earthquake in 1856, are visible in the museum’s garden.

Evily Sakkalis

(Operations Coordinator)

Built in baroque style in 1712, the historic Belvedere is one of the leading museums worldwide. It consists of two separate buildings, the Upper Belvedere and the Lower Belvedere, with luxury being evident everywhere as it was initially intended, as the summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. Equally impressive are the majestic gardens that connect the two buildings. Its famous art collection includes works ranging from the Middle Ages to today. Highlights include the world’s most extensive collection of Gustav Klimt paintings (including “The Kiss”). Make sure to check out the interesting periodic exhibitions hosted at Lower Belvedere.

Maria Tsamasfyrou

(Business Development Manager)

The Copernicus Science Center’s exciting feature is its mission to make the search for knowledge and sciences accessible and fun. The building is located on the banks of the Vistula River. On its two floors, it hosts many interactive exhibits, experiments, games, and laboratories that cover all scientific fields and applications of technology. Its shell is lined with vertical panels in seven different colors that alternate, giving the feeling of a three-dimensional puzzle as one approaches the entrance.

Neli Koutsandrea

(Architect)

An impressive postmodern construction of glass, copper, and concrete, designed by Finnish architects Rainer Mahlamaki and Ilmari Lahdelma. POLIN’s Core Exhibition is a journey through 1,000 years of the history of Polish Jews – from the Middle Ages until today. The building’s central feature that leaves all visitors speechless (me included) is its cavernous entrance hall. Similar in shape to a gorge, it references the crossing of the Red Sea by the people of Israel, known from the Exodus.

Maria Gialesa

(Junior Architect)

A museum, unique to Greece, that pays tribute to the industrial past of the Cyclades capital. The permanent exhibition consists of 307 rare documents about Ermoupolis’ industrial heritage, including maps, the original Ernst Ziller architectural designs of the island’s neoclassical city hall and restored machines, accompanied by several tools, and equipment, raw materials and industrial products. It consists of the Katsimantis Dyeworks building, the Aneroussis Lead Shot Factory building, the Velissaropoulos Textile Factory building and the Kornilakis Tannery building. Among the museum’s, one can also see the first legendary electric car Enfield 8000, constructed in Greece in the 70s

Evily Sakkalis

(Operations Coordinator)

Islands such as Santorini are already climbing even higher on the cosmopolitanism index, with new Michelin-starred restaurants, new premium hotel chains and new small boutique hotels-architectural masterpieces changing the landscape.

What does this mean for the average hotelier, the average tourist accommodation owner or the average home owner who wishes to thrive in a competitive and ever changing environment?

Simply that he no longer has the option to remain idle. In the tourist industry, stagnation equals suicide.

Based on our long experience in the renovation of tourist accommodation of all sizes in Greece (Athenian Riviera, Spetses) and abroad (Barcelona, ​​Cairo, Dubai and Abu Dhabi), we at the Epitomēe Design, suggest the following steps:

• Analysis of the accommodation needs according to modern tourism trends and environmental sensitivity. Analysis to identify problems and improve facility functionality and propose changes – add uses and benefits.
• Feasibility study, budget and detailed project plan.
• Investigate the possibility of the inclusion of the project in a subsidized program.

• Updating the license file and accommodation classification with the corresponding organizations
• Issuance of building permits
• The Accommodation needs a clear and Exclusive Concept; that will create a strong competitive advantage for the business owner.
• Implementation of a strict and very detailed project plan for all the stages of the renovation. The result will be optimal Time and Resources Management.
• Energy upgrading of the building
  Please do not consider this upgrade to be a luxury; it is now a necessity and a requirement of a increasing number of premium travelers.

And one last, very important step: do not close your ears to the demands of the times, just when Greek Tourism is in the phase of taking off. Listen carefully, collaborate closely and act now.