TSIZ Pizza Bar in Thessaloniki, designed by Chrysanthi Karta, reinterprets the pizza bar typology through an architecture articulated by light, colour and transparency. Blurring the boundary between interior and street, the project reveals pizza-making process as an urban experience. Exposed structures, glass bricks, stainless steel, and saturated red and yellow tones compose a cohesive industrial environment and a bespoke spatial identity.

TSIZ operates at the intersection of takeaway and sit-down dining, redefining the contemporary pizza bar through an architectural approach grounded in transparency and spatial continuity.

The primary design strategy is centered on the relationship between interior and street.

The façade is conceived as a permeable threshold, where a folded window system dissolves the boundary between inside and outside.

This mechanism invites the street into the space while offering passersby a direct view of the pizza-making process. Warm red interior lighting filters through the glass-brick benches and, combined with yellow window films, transforms TSIZ into a luminous presence within the urban streetscape.

Inside, the existing architectural shell is retained and exposed.

Rough plastered surfaces, exposed concrete columns and visible mechanical systems establish a raw architectural backdrop that informs the project’s material language, while the original mosaic floor is preserved. Colour is applied selectively: red ceramic tiles are introduced within the production area, while seating elements punctuate an otherwise neutral palette. This controlled use of colour both contrasts with and amplifies the space’s industrial character.

The layout is organized around a linear service counter positioned parallel to the main entrance. Constructed from stainless steel and glass bricks, the counter functions simultaneously as a production surface and a spatial filter, maintaining visual continuity while subtly defining zones of use.

Graphic elements are treated as integral architectural components rather than applied decoration, reinforcing clarity, legibility and spatial order.

The restroom continues the project’s immersive material and chromatic logic, conceived as an intensified interior condition. Saturated red lighting, reflective surfaces and perforated stainless-steel sink and door panels generate a dense, atmospheric environment in which light, texture and reflection dissolve spatial boundaries. Red ceramic tiles, linear luminaires and mirrored planes amplify depth and abstraction, reinforcing the restroom as an experiential continuation of TSIZ’s architectural narrative.

Through the use of glass bricks, stainless steel detailing, exposed concrete, yellow glass films and red lighting, TSIZ establishes a cohesive architectural identity defined by material consistency and controlled chromatic contrast.

Facts & Credits
Title TSIZ plz
Typology Architecture, Interior Renovation, Restaurant
Location Thessaloniki, Greece
Status Completed, 2026
Architecture Chrysanthi Karta
Graphic Design Kuki design 
Photography Karen Gkiounasian
Text by the author


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