The Milano Design Film Festival Greece—Athens (Prelaunch mini-event series) saw another creative synergy: The one with Shila Athens.
The mini-event included a private tour of Shila Athens – a late 1920s residence in the heart of Athens, which brings new meaning and inspiration to the boutique hotel concept. Combining traditional elements and the contemporary – and reminiscent of a hotel particulier – a neoclassical house of six distinctively designed suites – has been transformed into an otherworldly realm of elegance and sensuality. An exercise in unbounded imagination, of designing with natural materials, in a simple and ingenious way, Shila Athens’ experience leaves spatial realities open to one’s own curiosity and interpretations. A 1920s residence with an external and internal architecture revived by a design-on-the-go approach where raw materials, such as cement and bricks, celebrate the Athenian urban culture, rooting themselves in the persona of the city’s living.
The eve concluded with a Discussion titled “Portraits of Handmade (Temporary) Homes. Revisiting Pre-Existing Notions of Contemporary Living” that took place on Shila’s terrace.
The Discussion revolved around the meaning of space in its numerous dimensions and expressions, the essential elements that define a place/space of habitation. The space formed internally or externally of the architectural shell, the space we live in, the space we move and breathe in, the space where we dream and create: How can one envision and plan that which does not exist? In what ways can an internal or external architecture amplify its surroundings, becoming the catalyst for new definitions of place with a range of sensations? How can space be a teaching source of the ways we read our city and urban culture? How do we really engage with one’s senses? How do people feel at home in their bodies and with others? What makes design and architecture ephemeral or not; What is the relationship between conscious, articulate design and good functioning; How about space’s adaptability and performativity in meeting its user’s changeable needs and desires? How can space allow space for someone else to create a story within a story?
Guest Speakers
Ilias Papageorgiou, Architect, Founder of PILA Studio
Eftihia Stefanidi, Co-Founder & Creative Director of Shila Athens
Anna Bonnet, Head Designer & Co-Creative Director of Shila Athens
Rafika Chawishe, Αwarded Actress, Performer, Theatre maker with the vocal performance “Empty Space—Objects as non-actors—The absence of the artist
Moderator/Curator
Annie Markitanis, Director of MDFF Greece & Cyprus
Highlights Video by Konstantinos Hillas for ©MDFF Greece
Wine courtesy by Anana Coffee|Food, Partner of MDFF Greece
Organized/Produced by MDFF Greece (Annie Markitanis Director of MDFF Greece & Cyprus)
