BENAKI MUSEUM SHOP, ASTIR VOULIAGMENIS

In a unique symbiosis of culture and leisure, the Benaki Museum inaugurated in June 2019 a new pavilion into one of the most renowned Athenian resorts, the Four Seasons Astir Palace at the Athens Riviera. The building functions as the Museum's shop

The lighting concept was through simplicity and minimalism to highlight the architectural features and elevate the visual effect to the level of importance the museum has.

The first encounter of the visitor with the pavilion is through the large-scale pivotal iron door that holds also exhibit cases. Lighting these cases was the most demanding and intriguing task of the project.

This door is the iconic landmark of the project, which symbolizes the succession between night and day. The idea was to light the cases with an artistic way that would make apparent the fact that lighting is part of the design and not a separate issue.

Since there was no known product that could provide attachment of the fixtures on the door with no obvious cables, everything had to be patented. To designed the small spherical lighting fixtures and feeding them with electricity was the real patent. We carved a 3mm circuit in each metal case of the door, powered by low voltage using magnetic fastening of our spherical custom-made LED fixtures.

Inside the pavilion the materials chosen by the architects create a diversity in the area. Fiberglass and aluminum foam are used to create the exhibition shelves, while wooden frames, mirrors and concrete complete the interior design.

The general lighting was achieved with spots in recessed tracks between the ceiling wooden beams, so not to interfere with the general aesthetics and was based on criteria such as high-quality LED, small in size, with a variety in optics and high CRI>91.

The aluminum foam shelves with their shimmering glow were given more emphasis with cove lighting, which added a dramatic effect in the overall scene.

The desired atmosphere was completed by adding track spot lights recessed in the shelves, in the smallest size available, to highlight the artifacts with a discreet way