Hospitality Atmospheres explores the spatial, material, and sensory qualities that shape experiences of welcome. Through carefully selected projects, the series examines how architecture frames comfort, encounter, and ritual thus revealing hospitality not as a program, but as an atmosphere shaped by light, texture, proportion, and use.
Set within two small, picturesque villages, Milina House by Studiok45 in Pelion and Farmhouse in Poboleda by Pensi Pascual transform traditional homes into contemporary retreats while preserving their connection to place. In Pelion, where densely forested mountain slopes descend towards the Aegean and Pagasetic Gulf, an architecture of robust stone walls, timber construction and slate roofs evolved in close response to terrain and climate. Here, minimal intervention preserves this material intelligence: exposed masonry, the restored timber roof, oak floors and a suspended fireplace transform the old stone house into a warm retreat. In Poboleda, a small historic village embedded within Priorat’s rugged landscape of slate hills and terraced vineyards, architecture bears the traces of incremental transformation. The restoration embraces this accumulated character, preserving vaults, walls and irregularities while a geometric floor and partially opened roof establish a new dialogue with the landscape. Together, the two projects reveal how architecture can create a sense of retreat through material continuity, traces of time and a carefully considered relationship between the existing home and its surroundings.
Studiok45 Gives New Life to Milina House Through Its Original Materials
Located in Milina, southern Pelion, the 66 m² residence by Studiok45 transforms an old stone house into a contemporary retreat while preserving the material character of its original structure. Milina is a small coastal settlement in southern Pelion, stretching along the sheltered waters of the Pagasetic Gulf and surrounded by the region’s lush landscape. Its traditional architecture, characterised by the use of stone, timber and slate, reflects a close relationship between the built environment and its natural setting. Within this context, the renovation adopts a deliberately restrained approach, allowing the qualities of the original house to remain at the forefront.
This sensitivity to the existing fabric continues throughout the project. Rather than introducing a new architectural identity, the architects work with what is already there, keeping structural interventions to a bare minimum. Exposed stone, the conserved original timber roof and wide oak flooring form the foundation of the interior, complemented by carefully selected contemporary elements.
The objective was to create a hospitable and comfortable rest house while retaining the spatial qualities, materials and character of the existing one.
The living room is maintained as a unified volume, allowing its height to remain perceptible and giving the compact residence a sense of openness.
The architects work with the existing proportions, keeping the interior simple and legible.
Bare stone dominates the walls, retaining the tactile presence of the original masonry and providing a mineral backdrop for the spaces.
Against it, wide oak boards introduce warmth and a softer domestic quality underfoot.
The contrast between the roughness of the stone and the natural warmth of the wood creates a balanced palette in which the existing and new elements coexist naturally.
The original wooden roof is another defining element of the renovation.
Revealed and carefully conserved, it remains visible from the interior, with particular attention given to its elegant structural details. The exposed construction becomes an integral part of the architectural composition, adding texture and depth to the interior while maintaining a strong connection to the house’s original identity.
Lighting contributes to this sense of continuity.
Elegant fixtures highlight the restored structural components and the material qualities of the roof and stone walls, drawing attention to details while creating a warm and intimate atmosphere. The newer elements follow the same measured approach.
Coloured casings and windows introduce subtle accents, while a cast-iron fireplace provides a focal point within the living space.
Wooden elements and comfortable furniture in neutral textiles soften the robustness of the stone and timber, completing an interior that feels relaxed without becoming decorative.
The result is a quiet renovation that balances preservation with contemporary living. By working with the existing stone walls, timber roof, proportions and textures, Studiok45 Architecture gives the house a renewed life while retaining its sense of age and place.
Old and new come together through material, light and proportion, creating an intimate retreat that remains closely connected to the architectural character of Pelion.
Facts & Credits
Project title Milina House
Typology Interiors, Hospitality, Renovation
Location Milina, Pelion, Greece
Completion year 2023
Area 66 m2
Architecture Studiok45 Architecture
Design & Supervision Team George Tzorbatzidis, Athina Athanasiou
Photography Piyi Wong
Pensi Pascual renovates Farmhouse in Poboleda, opening a new terrace towards Priorat
Set within the historic centre of Poboleda in Catalonia’s Priorat region, Farmhouse by Pensi Pascual Architecture Studio transforms the upper floor of a traditional terraced house into an independent guest retreat.
Poboleda is a small historic village in the heart of Priorat, a rugged wine-growing region in southern Catalonia characterised by steep hillsides, terraced vineyards and dramatic terrain. Its compact urban fabric, shaped by narrow streets, traditional houses and the agricultural character of the surrounding landscape, reflects a close relationship between architecture, terrain and rural life.This connection to place informs the renovation, which works with the existing building and its accumulated layers rather than replacing them. The main gesture comes from above: a partial opening of the roof creates a terrace overlooking the landscape, bringing light, air and a direct connection to the surrounding countryside into the heart of the house.
The intervention begins with the reorganisation of the existing central staircase and lightwell, improving the entry of natural light while reinforcing the building’s vertical continuity.
New doors, joinery and flooring are introduced with care, becoming additions to a structure shaped by successive transformations.
The project embraces this cumulative character, allowing the different stages of the building’s evolution to remain visible and become part of its renewed identity.
On the upper floor, the partial opening of the roof establishes the terrace as the main gesture around which the project is organised.
The intervention preserves existing elements—including vaults, capitals, walls and openings—as traces of what was already there. Their presence defines the perimeter of the spaces and establishes material continuity between the different temporal layers of the house. At the same time, the new terrace extends the interior towards the surrounding landscape, creating a direct relationship between the domestic space and the wider setting of the Priorat.
The plan is organised through a carefully developed geometry of flooring that responds both to the existing structure and to the historic fabric of Poboleda.
Columns, retaining walls and the façade establish one set of alignments, while the directions of the plots that shape the village centre provide another. Their intersection generates a series of trapezoidal concrete pieces that define two areas of timber flooring inside and two ceramic surfaces outside. The geometry therefore extends beyond the interior, connecting the different spaces and reinforcing the transition from the house towards the terrace and landscape.
At the centre, the fireplace moves beyond a purely functional or decorative role to become an element around which different ways of inhabiting the house are organised.
Benches, furniture and shelving complete the space with a limited number of elements, leaving room for everyday activities and allowing the interior to change naturally over time.
Material transitions further reinforce the relationship between inside and outside.
Timber, concrete and ceramic mark gradual shifts between the different areas, while the existing textures, finishes, irregularities and materials remain visible alongside the new additions.
The result is not a uniform interior, but one in which different surfaces and traces of time coexist while retaining their individual character.
Ultimately, the project works with what the house already contains. Pensi Pascual Architecture Studio allows the accumulated layers of the building to remain legible, introducing new elements that complement rather than erase them.
Old and new materials enter into dialogue within a shared space, giving the house a renewed identity while preserving the sense of a building continuously shaped by time.
Facts & Credits
Project title Farmhouse in Poboleda
Typology Interiors, Hospitality, Renovation
Location Poboleda, Catalonia, Spain
Completion year 2025
Architecture Pensi Pascual Architecture Studio
Photography Simone Marcolin