New Hotel from Old

Described as a “living piece of art”, the New Hotel in Athens – the latest acquisition of global boutique hotel group Design Hotels – has been designed using salvaged elements of the Olympic Palace Hotel, which formerly stood on the site.

The hotel’s owner, Greek-Cypriot art dealer Dakis Joannou, collaborated with renowned Brazilian designers Humberto and Fernando Campana to create modern, tactile interiors while preserving some of the heritage of the 1958 Olympic Palace Hotel’s modernist building. Most notably, chairs and doors reclaimed from the old hotel litter the interiors, while striking tree-like sculptures constructed from mismatched scraps of wood decorate public lounges.

Each of the 79 guestrooms is decorated according to one of three different design concepts, all of which are inspired by Greek culture. The New Hotel’s embrace of salvaged materials reflects the growing trend for deconstructed interiors – read Deconstructed Interiors for more examples.

Campana Brothers