Beetroot Design Group (studio)

Ismail Pasha Khani¹

In the heart of Thessaloniki and in collaboration with ‘Beetroot Design Group’, we set off on a creative experiment, by renovating the interior spaces of the building hosting the ‘beetroot house’. This monument enchanted us with its timeless typology, its central atrium, and its elaborate and eclectic facades on the perimeter. We designed, we reconsidered, we rejected and re-designed again, all with the goal of preserving the building’s values, materiality, and charming spatial quality. Despite its decay, the beauty of the building mesmerised us, and its energy led us on a thrilling journey of expression, with time, matter, light, textures, and colours as our companions. Our goal was to create a spatial atmosphere where Beetroot’s innovative creations and extroverted actions could be housed, while deeply respecting both the old, material nature of the monument, as well as its new expression, which was able to take shape through the mastery of experienced craftspeople.

1. Listed monument, built at the end of the 19th century and re designed by Leonardo Gennari (1926)

 Text extract first published in The Greek Foundation Vol.2