Rehabilitation and conversion of former hotel “Acropole Palace”, one of the most important historical buildings of the center of Athens

The “Acropole Palace“ hotel is among the most important aesthetic and historical buildings of the capital. It stands on the corner of Patission & Averof Str, versus the historical building of the National Technical University of Athens and the Archaeological Museum of Athens. Recognized now as a “fine example of architecture of the international Art Nouveau”, the main features of the morphological detail, the decorative elegance and richness of materials sealed the season, housing the Grand Hotel.

“Acropole Palace“ is an imposing building of 33,99m height, consisting of a basement, 2-level height Ground floor, mezzanine, six similar floor plans and a loft. The total built area including underground and above ground levels is about 6500m².

Rehabilitation and conversion of former hotel “Acropole Palace” (build in 1925) into the “Ministry of Culture building in Athens, Greece. Final design, construction documents, additional designs and tender documents for listed building “Acropole Palace”.

The rehabilitation of Acropole Palace will upgrade the historical and architectural center of the city and by housing exhibition halls, musical events, receptions, press conferences rooms and cultural institutions such as the Council of  Culture, the National Book Centre, the National Centre of Theatre-Dance, services of the National Archaeological Museum, offices of the Ministry of Culture, Roof Garden, and a loft for hosting personalities from the world of culture.

The synthetic element of the building is the diagonal axis of the plot emphasized with the corner of the building shaped in a curve. The main entrance of the hotel is from Patission Str. while on the Averof str. Is a secondary one leading to the basement floors.

The ground floor is developed intο two levels. From that level begins the central vertical communication that reaches up to the 6th floor. The roof, which is the end of the building has a peristyle overlooking to Lycabettus mountain. Besides the main staircase there and auxiliary ladders that starts from the second level of the buiulding and ends up to the 5th floor. There are some minor steps leading to the basement.

The facades are divided on a basis that includes the basement and double height ground floor accented with horizontal joints, corresponding to the first three floors, the last two floors as crown, separated by cornices and colonnade round beam in the loft. The curved projection is emphasized by the tripartite openings repeated on all floors.