{"id":277165,"date":"2025-07-20T10:56:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T10:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/277165\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T10:56:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T10:56:15","slug":"neiheiser-argyros-and-ese-studio-revamp-athens-historic-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/277165\/","title":{"rendered":"neiheiser argyros and es\u00e9 studio revamp athens’ historic caf\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neiheiser Argyros and Es\u00e9 studio revamp historic athenian caf\u00e9<\/p>\n

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Neiheiser Argyros<\/strong><\/a> and Es\u00e9 studio transform Aigli Zappeiou, a historic 1904 caf\u00e9<\/strong><\/a> located in the National Gardens of Athens<\/strong><\/a>, aiming to revive its role not just as a place to eat or gather, but as an inclusive space for multiple forms of public life. Originally a modest caf\u00e9 adjacent to the neoclassical Zappeion Hall, Aigli has been a central meeting point for over a century. Now, it reopens with a fresh identity with the launch of two distinct yet interconnected venues, the Aigli All-Day Caf\u00e9 and the Aigli Restaurant.<\/p>\n

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Located next to the neoclassical Zappeion exhibition<\/strong><\/a> hall, Aigli Zappeiou has long been embedded in the collective imagination of Athenians as a reference point. The challenge for the architects was to examine what Aigli means today and how it can continue to matter in the future. The design team approached the task like archaeologists, closely reading the layers of material history, and like sociologists, attuned to contemporary Athenian culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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all images by Lorenzo Zandri<\/a><\/p>\n

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reconnecting Aigli to the national gardens<\/p>\n

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Inside the Aigli All-Day Caf\u00e9, the London-based<\/strong><\/a> Neiheiser Argyros and Athens-based<\/strong><\/a> Es\u00e9 studio use simple elements to create a warm and grounded atmosphere. Green marble from Tinos wraps the lower parts of the walls, giving the space a tactile, earthy character. The joints are intentionally left rough, more like something you\u2019d see in a garden than a formal interior. A long, 20-meter marble bar runs through the historic double-height room, holding everything from coffee and food stations to a DJ booth.<\/p>\n

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The design also opens up the back of the building to reconnect with the National Gardens, letting in light and views that were previously blocked. Large indoor planters with Ficus trees help unite inside and out. A window into the kitchen adds to the lively atmosphere by making the act of cooking part of the overall experience. With both indoor and outdoor seating, the caf\u00e9 can adapt to different types of visitors and moments.<\/p>\n

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In contrast, the Aigli Restaurant is quieter and more intimate, offering a refined dining setting with views over the gardens and the Acropolis beyond. The original red-and-white marble floor is restored, and its triangular pattern is echoed in a new ceiling design made from wood. Along the edges of the room, curved yellow booths add a soft and inviting touch, while, at the center, a sculptural bar brings the space together. Rich materials, wood, stone, textiles, are used throughout to create a calm and welcoming environment that encourages guests to slow down and enjoy the space.<\/p>\n

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a central planted booth with a large Ficus tree invites visitors to gather under its canopy<\/p>\n

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part of a series of venues<\/p>\n

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Neiheiser Argyros and Es\u00e9 studio describe the design language as \u2018ornamental minimalism\u2019, a paradoxical but fitting term for a space that acknowledges classical detail while stripping it back to let people, food, and culture take center stage. The intervention also shifts the spatial logic of the building so that what was once inward-looking is now porous and outward-facing. New views, terraces, and circulation paths connect Aigli to the National Gardens and the city beyond.<\/p>\n

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The redesign is part of a series of venues that will make up the new Aigli ecosystem, including a cinema, event hall, music venue, conference center, and art gallery. Each program will carry its own spatial identity, but all will share a common architectural DNA, creating what the architects call a container of compelling contrasts.<\/p>\n

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green sand blasted Tinos marble wraps the interior walls up to a 1m datum<\/p>\n

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the all day caf\u00e9 walls are clad with brushed oak veneered panels<\/p>\n

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the bar is clad with sand blasted, fluted, green Tinos marble<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neiheiser Argyros and Es\u00e9 studio revamp historic athenian caf\u00e9 \u00a0 Neiheiser Argyros and Es\u00e9 studio transform Aigli Zappeiou,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[56145,4021,4020,4022,77,104598,14813,12858,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-277165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-architecture-in-greece","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-neiheiser-argyros","14":"tag-renovation-and-restoration-architecture-and-design","15":"tag-restaurant-and-cafe-design","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114885203552812857","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}