Agemar Headquarters | Sparch | Sakellaridou /Papanikolaou Architects

Headquarters of the largest Greek maritime group, The Agemar Headquarters sails (metaphorically) on the Athens promenade. An architecture with fluid forms personifies this building that stands over the urban landscape, establishing a dialogue with the intense natural light of the Athenian sky. Winner for the Darc Awards thanks to its solid lighting project, the group’s headquarters fluctuates between design and visual aesthetics.

URBAN MOORING OF MARINE LIGHT
The building, with its 30.000 m², rises majestically over the city. By day, the natural light highlights the volumes of the building and by night, every element stands out sinuously against the dark. The building is entirely outlined thanks to a uniquely designed lighting solution, capable of emphasising and highlighting the particular characteristics of this directional space. From the curved shapes distributed over several floors, the building is described by two distinct bodies joined by suspended bridges. A true design and lighting challenge that required the use of custom lighting products in order to best present the characteristics of the building, both during the day and at night.

The project was designed and developed to be able to have the same perception of the architectural volumes throughout the entire day. The solutions adopted did not foresee direct lighting of the white part on the various floors, but of the ceiling, with an upward emission of light. The effect achieved is that of reflected light. Throughout the building, we find Paseo, a linear bar customised for the project both in dimension and optics, in order to be able to adapt to the various dimensions of the ceiling, the irregular shape of the architecture and the non-continuous demand in terms of power. The product, with asymmetrical optics with upward lighting, was installed on the lower floor. Thanks to these optics, the light is projected with a half direction outward. Used this way, it allows a dispersion of the light outward to be prevented, thereby decreasing the luminous pollution, as well as a dispersion of light inward, which would have been in contrast to the internal lighting of the offices. At the entrance, we once again find Paseo with an 8° light beam that bathes the base of the building to create, in a theatrical way, a clear detachment from the ground. Lastly, in the garden around the building, Twig units were used. A sinuous shaft on the floor, it creates chiaroscuro play on the vegetation surrounding the group’s headquarters, providing movement reminiscent of the waves on the sea. 

 Tulip armchairs by LAMM have been installed in this prestigious context, thanks to the collaboration of the dealer Tsaoussoglou. Conceived by Bartoli Design, Tulip is a conference armchair characterised by the synchronised innovative opening system of seats and armrests and a compact and rounded shape, which facilitates its inclusion in different architectural settings. Chosen in the beam-mounted version and equipped with writing tablets, the armchairs have been arranged in straight rows on steps. 

Architect: Sparch Architects 
Lighting Designer: Eleftheria Deko Lighting Design 
Lighting suppliers: Linea Light Group 
Photo: Nikos Daniilidis