Ugly Rolls by Georgios Apostolopoulos Architects is a compact retail project in downtown Athens that explores openness, visibility, and spatial efficiency within a tightly constrained urban footprint. Transforming an existing corner shop, the design is defined by cinnamon-toned maroon framing that draws the eye from the street and echoes the warmth of the baked goods inside, visually linking product and process. This expressive envelope enhances transparency and clarity, placing production on display and rethinking how small-scale architecture can actively engage the public realm.
Central to the transformation is a new glazed metal façade articulated by cinnamon-toned maroon framing.
This distinctive chromatic gesture draws the eye from the pavement inward, echoing the warmth of the baked goods produced inside and establishing an immediate visual dialogue between product, process, and public space.
Openness and visibility become the project’s primary spatial tools, deliberately exposing the interior to the street and softening the boundary between public and private. While the upper portion of the façade remains transparent, solid lower metal panels discreetly conceal the working counters, carefully balancing visual openness with functional requirements.
This calibrated approach allows the interior activity to be legible without becoming visually cluttered, maintaining a sense of calm within the small volume.
All operational elements are arranged along the perimeter, freeing the centre of the space and maximising its usability. This organisational strategy reinforces spatial clarity, allowing the interior to read as a single, continuous volume despite its limited dimensions.
The programme unfolds across two interconnected zones. At the corner, a vertically opening window acts as a direct interface with the city, serving cinnamon rolls and coffee straight to the street. This simple yet effective gesture activates the pavement and establishes an informal, immediate relationship with passersby. Behind the glazed façade, the second zone accommodates production, where preparation unfolds in full view, transforming routine labour into a quiet, everyday performance.
By carefully calibrating transparency and enclosure, Ugly Rolls establishes a subtle yet confident dialogue between interior activity and the surrounding streetscape. Defined by material restraint, spatial economy, and a clear visual identity, the project demonstrates how micro-scale architecture can transform the ordinary into something precise, engaging, and deeply human.
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Facts & Credits
Project title Ugly Rolls
Typology Retail, Store
Location Athens
Client Ugly Rolls
Architectural and Interior Design Georgios Apostolopoulos Architects
Construction Georgios Apostolopoulos Architects
Photography Sarah Rainer
Graphic Design and Branding Ogust
Text provided by the architects
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