An Artist's Sanctuary-The Art Warehouse In Boeotia By A31 Architects

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The workshop stands on the ancient soils of Greece, between olive, oleander and cypress trees, resembling through its appearance the amazing landscape as if it would have risen from it.

The client, Alexandros Liapis, is a sculptor and painter and the buildings main function is to host the artist’s creations. Any type of artist would greatly desire such a project because it offers a proper space to expose and present to the public his work, and not in a commercial way but in a personal manner which allows the freedom of exposing his creation in the same way it was intended to look like from the beginning. A great contributor to the fair observation of the exhibition is the large glazed wall containing the entrance. During daytime, it offers a sufficient amount of light to enter the interior and during the night, the exhibition becomes visible from outside, accentuating the structure itself at the same time.

The shape of the building is simple and pure. The dome is a timeless structure that has been around since antiquity and still impresses nowadays. The simplicity of the structure and the design as a whole make it very easy for any visitor to set his eye firstly on the artist creations and not on the building itself which becomes a secondary attraction, not interfering with the exhibition. The exhibition however is not the only function if the building; it also serves as a workshop for the artist. This project then becomes much more than just a space where he can work and present his creation, it becomes his sanctuary, a place where the act of creation is at its best, undisturbed by the noise of the city. The concrete mass acts like a barrier between the exterior, a protective shell.

Description from architects:

“The new structure is located in the North-South axis, while the orthogonal plan view is divided into 3 zones: Firstly, the cantilever with the balcony in the South, where the entrance is situated, secondly, the artist’s workspace and finally the attic in the North which serves as a storage space. A straight staircase connects the two levels, while the cantilevered concrete steps can serve as exhibition stands for the artist’s work. The wall openings, which relate to the Sun’s trajectory, the interior lighting and the ventilation, stem from transverse horizontal sections in the building shell. The sliced concrete blocks that are removed now function as benches for people and pedestals for sculptures.”