location: ARCADIA, PELOPONNEs, GREECE
ARCHITECTURE: K-STUDIO & MONOGON
YEAR: 2023
STYLE: HERITAGE RESTORATION / CONTEMPORARY MINIMALISM
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANA SANTL
SOME BUILDINGS ARE GIVEN A SECOND LIFE. OTHERS SEEM TO RETURN TO THE PURPOSE THEY WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO SERVE.
HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ARCADIA, SURROUNDED BY THE DENSE FIR FORESTS OF MOUNT MAINALO, MANNA IS A PLACE WHERE ARCHITECTURE, HISTORY AND THE IDEA OF REST COME TOGETHER.
BUILT IN 1929 AS A SANATORIUM FOR PATIENTS WITH TUBERCULOSIS, THE BUILDING WAS ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED AS A PLACE OF HEALING. ITS REMOTE LOCATION, 1,200 METRES ABOVE SEA LEVEL, OFFERED THE FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR AND QUIET NATURAL SURROUNDINGS CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL TO RECOVERY AT THE TIME.
THE SANATORIUM WAS NAMED AFTER ANNA MELA, A WOMAN WHO DEDICATED MUCH OF HER LIFE TO CARING FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS AND THE SICK. HER COMPASSION GAVE THE BUILDING ITS NAME — AND, IN MANY WAYS, ITS ENDURING IDENTITY.
AFTER YEARS OF ABANDONMENT, THE HISTORIC STRUCTURE HAS BEEN REIMAGINED AS A 32-ROOM HOTEL THROUGH AN ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT BY K-STUDIO, WITH TECHNICAL DESIGN BY MONOGON.
THE RESTORATION FOLLOWS A SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL IDEA: PRESERVE WHAT GIVES THE BUILDING ITS CHARACTER, AND ALLOW CONTEMPORARY DESIGN TO EXIST QUIETLY ALONGSIDE IT.
ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY RETAINED, WHILE NEW MATERIALS WERE SELECTED TO FEEL NATURAL WITHIN THE HISTORIC STRUCTURE. STONE, TIMBER, TERRAZZO AND SOFTLY TEXTURED SURFACES CREATE A RESTRAINED PALETTE INSPIRED BY THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE.
INSIDE THE GUEST ROOMS, A SUBTLE GEOMETRIC LANGUAGE CONNECTS PAST AND PRESENT. THE DISTINCTIVE PATTERNS OF THE BUILDING’S ORIGINAL IRON DOORS INSPIRED A TIMBER GRID THAT HELPS ORGANISE THE SPACES FOR SLEEPING, BATHING AND DRESSING.
THE RESULT IS AN INTERIOR THAT FEELS BOTH CONTEMPORARY AND DEEPLY ROOTED IN ITS HISTORY.
BEYOND THE ROOMS, THE HOTEL OFFERS SPACES FOR GATHERING AND SOLITUDE. A WARM LOUNGE, RESTAURANT AND WELLNESS AREAS CONTINUE THE BUILDING’S ORIGINAL ASSOCIATION WITH REST AND RECOVERY, NOW REINTERPRETED THROUGH A MORE PERSONAL UNDERSTANDING OF WELLBEING.
OUTSIDE, THE FOREST IS ALWAYS PRESENT. THE QUIET OF THE MOUNTAINS, THE CHANGING LIGHT AND THE RHYTHM OF THE SEASONS BECOME PART OF THE ARCHITECTURAL EXPERIENCE.
WHAT MAKES MANNA SPECIAL IS NOT SIMPLY THAT AN OLD BUILDING HAS BEEN RESTORED. IT IS THE WAY ITS ORIGINAL PURPOSE HAS FOUND A NEW EXPRESSION.
NEARLY A CENTURY AFTER ITS FIRST GUESTS ARRIVED SEEKING REST, MANNA ONCE AGAIN OFFERS A PLACE TO SLOW DOWN, RECOVER AND FEEL CONNECTED TO THE NATURAL WORLD.
SOMETIMES, THE MOST MEANINGFUL ARCHITECTURE IS NOT ABOUT CREATING SOMETHING NEW, BUT ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT DESERVES TO REMAIN.
