EverGreen Casual Food Bar

Front side on Korai street (pedestrian square). 'E' shaped vetrin show the orange and pineapple used in the juices preparation while the low part of the body is an 'out-service station' for the waiters; the 'G' shaped body is a metamorph LED sign.

Project details

• Project Name: EverGreen Casual Food Bar
• Location of Site: Athens, Greece
• Design Team: Marco Rucci, Menelaos Koulouris, Nikos Dourdourekas
• Project Type: 24 hours bar, gastronomy, coffe roasting, bakery
• Client: EverGreen, Menelaos Koulouris
• Site Area: 160 sqm
• Built-up Area: 320 sqm on two levels
• Cost of Construction: 400, 000 euro
• Date of completion: April, 2006

Front side on Korai street: night view, the groundfloor connect the public square with the commercial gallery to become a continuous space.

Words from the architect

'Customer experience', 'waiting experience' and 'job satisfaction' were the base for a casual food bar: a place able to offer added value to the different moments of everyday life; a place able to show the transparency of each process of the final product; a space where the experience of freshness, quality, healthiness, focused on intensive gastronomy and coffee production 'was directly 'on stage' as the performance offered from the Evergreen staff to the customers. The main requirement was to organically integrate all the needs with a high level communication space able to support the performance and to reflect the marketing strategy of the Evergreen brand.

View from the commercial gallery.

The concept starts from a desire: to let the customer experience to become a 'total experience'. A space able to expand the customer senses by pushing them to move, to feel forms, shapes and materials.

View of the pastry display case and the orange resin floor folded.

The EG space, as a 'space performance' doesn't offer clear space solution, but just 'undefined spaces': multiplicity of semiologies, suggestions and metaphors, height impact materials stimulating communication at different levels. The customer needs to move, to explore, to search solutions, to activate the mind and senses. Evergreen space is not an answer; it s a question, it gives you possibilities, different roads: the role of the customer is active, they have to give their own solution.

The space runs along the glass and red corian bench and goes up in the double height, modelling itself around the big 'E' and 'G' shaped balconies.

On the ground floor, varnished ash wood slats are used with several random tones of green as floor and wall covering, to let the space vibrate between the different possibilities of green. On the same floor, orange and white resin finishes are moving in a fluid growth process where the white folds up to become a part of the bench while the orange folds to become a wall before to turn in the direction of the staircase and the open kitchen. The concept of organic changing, metamorphosis and continuity, relates also the red corian bench: it moves through the space, showing its mass and disappearing into the floor in the direction of the staircase. Up this 'in progress' space, two big 'E' and 'G' shaped volumes float in the space as two balconies; they are made of green PVC stretched film. All the materials like also super mirror finish stainless steel, transparent coloured / fluorescent / radiant Plexiglas, glass and glass mosaics, dionysos marble, are used to expand the 'waiting experience' by inducing in the customers the desire to explore, to learn from the 'multiplicity' and 'difference'.

Two big 'E' and 'G' shaped volumes float in the space: they are made of green PVC stretched film.

Placed on the ground floor of a great commercial building protected by the municipality of Athens, it overcomes the competition on the level of the spatial continuity, modelling the new flooring to the adjacent slopes of the pedestrian square and the commercial gallery, and opening completely the borders toward the public spaces. The ground floor, with the big folded working and exhibition bench for gastronomy and coffee(designed with Menelaos Koulouris), is a 'significant cavity': it is an extension of the public space that now flows from outside to inside; it runs along the glass and red corian bench and goes up in the double height modelling itself around the big 'E' and 'G' shaped balconies. The staircase (between the 'red bench' and the coffee roasting and open kitchen area) is characterized by a strong action of light and colour, intensifying the experience of verticality. The upper level is dedicated to the tables and also to the toilettes and storage/dressing room.

More photographs

The concept of organic changing, metamorphosis and continuity, relates the changing of color of green, the orange and white resin finishes, the inox floor: all they are moving in a fluid growth process together with the glass-red corian bench.

View of the 'EG' balconies.

View of the 'EG' balconies.

'Coffee machine area': the red corian bench shows its own mass, inserted in a block of folded steel.

View of the 'drinks preparation area'

The red corian bench folds down and disappears into the floor in the direction of the staircase, the 'roasting area' and the openkitchen.

View from the staircase to the workbench.

Frontal view of the staircase with the temporary storage-exhibition of the coffee's sacks and the poem for EverGreen printed on glass.

The staircase is characterized by a strong action of light and color, intensifying the experience of verticality.

View of the staircase from the upper level.

Upper level: tables area next to the toilettes entry.

The toilettes entry is marked on two sides from inox frames, while a inox ceiling runs from the top.

Gentlemen toilette entrance.

Gentlemen and ladies toilettes are identified by green and red doors with big letters XY and XX to indicate the difference in chromosomes.

View of the tables area with the 'EG' balconies.

View of the tables area with the 'EG' balconies.

View of the dionysos marble bench.

View of the triple height, from down to up: ground floor with the red corian bench, upper level with the 'EG' balconies, 'white loft'.

The 'white atmosphere' of the loft is broken from the colored chairs and colored light reflections coming from the staircase.

Credits

• Text and photographs by Marco Rucci