The large collection of the Cycladic Civilization is housed within the building of the Museum of Cycladic Art, a distinctive example of neoclassical architecture in a prominent location in the city centre of Athens. The café and shop of the museum were recently redesigned by the award-winning firm, Kois Associated Architects, in order to correspond to the Cycladic feeling.
The Cycladic Café is a tranquil and sun-filled urban garden, with its characteristic roof screens that filter the sunlight, providing subtle shading. The colour palette and materials used derive from the natural tones and textures of the Cycladic landscape. Stone, timber, metal and glass are utilised to create an urban oasis referencing the feeling of the islands.
The polestar of the Cycladic Café is the white aluminium canopy which refracts the light and imposes the specific Cycladic aura in the space. Kois Associated Architects was heavily influenced and guided throughout the design process from the scale, harmony and simplicity of the reinstated Thesaurus of Keros and the larger marble vessels and idols.
The natural light is further accented by the thoughtful lighting design by Eleftheria Deko, while the marble benches and green wall reaching to the atrium’s ceiling is a work of doxiadis + team (Aggeliki Mathioudaki, Architect, Landscape Architect).