The Αrchitect’s Οffice explores the studio as both laboratory and mirror of architectural thought. The series examines how space, ritual, tools, and collaboration shape design culture. From intimate ateliers to larger practices, these workplaces reveal values and ambitions—where ideas are tested and identities take form, moving from paper and digital drawing toward the built world.
In the heart of Kypseli, Ioanna Vlachaki and ATOB shape a shared workspace that reflects their collaborative ethos and layered design language. Conceived as an open canvas, the 75-square-metre studio merges architecture, object design, and art through bespoke interventions and curated works. Balancing industrial precision with tactile warmth, the space unfolds as both workplace and evolving exhibition of ideas, dialogue, and experimentation.
Nestled in Kypseli, an Athenian district layered with modernist memory and urban vitality, Ioanna Vlachaki Studio establishes its new home in a space that reflects both its architectural sensibility and its emotional connection to the area. Designed by Ioanna Vlachaki and constructed in collaboration with ATOB, the studio operates as a shared workspace for the two practices, grounded in common values, an ongoing creative dialogue, and sustained collaboration across multiple projects.
The choice of location is deliberate. Kypseli, with its eclectic interwar façades and buildings spanning influences from neoclassicism to modernism—often enriched with Art Nouveau and Art Deco features—forms a dense cultural landscape that continues to inform the studio’s work. Many of their projects are rooted in the area, reflecting an ongoing engagement with its architectural and social fabric.
As a site where form, memory, and lived experience intersect, the neighborhood mirrors the practice’s ethos: a balance between the industrial and the historic, the rigorous and the poetic, shaping the experiential field within which their work unfolds.
Ioanna Vlachaki Studio Design Philosophy
Every project — including this personal endeavour — is grounded in sensory and cultural value, from detail to large scale. The practice shapes sculptural spaces and objects, balancing contemporary and traditional elements. A holistic approach spans urban context, architecture, and bespoke objects, conceived as a unified whole within a shared narrative.
Objects inhabit space like buildings on the horizon, recalling Gae Aulenti, and revealing the dialogue between design and experience.
Rooted in art, philosophy, and history, the studio’s work emerges as a cohesive composition.
Ioanna Vlachaki Studio defined by meticulous handmade detail, becomes both expression and refuge — a space of encounter, inspiration, and creativity.
The Space
The studio unfolds across 75m2, organized as a two-level ground-floor space with generous openings and a luminous storefront that establishes a visual and spatial continuity with the street. The main workspace occupies the ground level, while two auxiliary work areas and a meeting space are positioned above, connected by a circular metal staircase.
Despite its compact footprint, the interior conveys a sense of openness and intimacy, shaped by the presence of natural light and spatial fluidity.
Conceived as an open canvas, the space operates as a narrative environment in which visitors engage with the studio’s approach through the interplay of objects, materials, and spatial relationships.
Design Approach
The design is articulated through an off-white, neutral backdrop that serves as a calm and unobtrusive ground for custom-made constructions and carefully curated artworks. Each element within the space is specifically designed and executed in situ, reflecting an architectural approach that emphasizes the dialogue between object and space. Geometric and sculptural volumes are juxtaposed with softer forms and curved geometries, establishing a dynamic interplay of contrasts.
Industrial and refined materials are reconsidered and transformed through a process that foregrounds craftsmanship and tactility.
Galvanized sheet metal, colored lacquered wood, textiles, and lighting elements function as sculptural components, mediating between rawness and refinement, while carpeting introduces a layer of warmth that balances austerity with a sense of hospitality.
K3 Collection
Central to the project is the bespoke K3 Collection, a series of objects situated at the intersection of architecture, sculpture, and furniture.
A white lacquered workstation anchors the main space, while a steel daybed introduces moments of rest, and an industrial meeting table in galvanized metal emphasizes material directness. Additional elements, including a wall-mounted light composed of recycled galvanized steel and Chinese paper, a lounge chair derived from a miscast sheet metal fragment paired with lacquered blue legs, and a compact kitchenette integrated beneath the circular staircase, embody strategies of reuse, reinterpretation, and site-specific design.
Each piece reflects a commitment to handcrafted detail and intentional construction, functioning as a scaled architectural experiment that is simultaneously sculptural and utilitarian.
Studio as Canvas for Art and Collaboration
The studio further operates as a mutable platform for artistic expression, with works by T. Ross, Stamos Michael, and Barbadee inhabiting the space alongside a growing collection of contributions from selected artists.
In this way, the interior becomes a site of exchange, fostering dialogue between architecture, design, and other creative disciplines.
The convergence of these practices reinforces a broader conceptual framework in which spatial design, artistic production, and material exploration coexist as interconnected forms of expression, continually informing and enriching one another.
Plans
Facts & Credits
Project title: Ioanna Vlachaki studio
Project type: Interiors | Studio design
Architecture & design: Ioanna Vlachaki
Project location: Kypseli, Athens
Construction: ATOB
Artworks: T.Ross, Stamos Michael, barba dee
Photography: Antonis Sarris