Lucky Bar | Yianna Bouyioukou

As a part of a comprehensive design strategy for a series of concept bars in Greece, this store was designed be the first one to be built in the area of Marousi, in Athens.

The store is located on the ground floor of an existing building at the end of a pedestrian street, visible from far. The initial design interventions focus on redefining the limits of the space - both towards the public space and the back yard - opening up generous glazed surfaces with thin steel mullions that frame the openings in both façades. Inside, the original double height space was emptied out, and a soft, monochromatic stucco covers up and unifies all the original horizontal and vertical surfaces.

The programmatic areas are carefully and efficiently accommodated within the different zones of the space: the open kitchen is located under the mezzanine, together with a bar and fixed folded steel tables. On the mezzanine level, the restrooms and a sitting area are located. Towards the street, high tables and stools face the sidewalk.

In the main space, a conceptually continuous wooden piece is introduced and it becomes the main design feature. Starting under the mezzanine, it encloses the kitchen and becomes a sculpted counter that includes the bar area. It then becomes the stair that connects the two levels, to finally transform itself in the railing of the mezzanine and the upstairs sitting benches. Seen as a whole, this wooden piece is a continuous element that describes a loop within the space, transforming itself along the different areas and giving a distinctive quality to the bar. It is a single intervention that at the same time unifies and differentiates the space, organizing functions and defining how to move through the store.

Towards the back, the bar opens up to a charming backyard that takes advantage of the greenery of the center of the city block. Throughout the whole space, different kind of tables, seating and lighting provide distinctive bar experiences, from cozy and warm small corners to generous big tables for groups gatherings, from intimate indoor sitting to exterior terrace areas.

With simple and calibrated design decisions, Marousi´s Lucky Bar strives to become a point of reference in the neighborhood, a lively hub that connects the busy street with the green interior of the block through the effervescent landscape of the bar life.