ALMAN SPORT chose a newly built building at 83 Piraeus Street to display its unique collection of vintage cars.
The 1,500 sq. m of space, spread over 2 levels, contains not only the exhibition area itself but also a bar, a shop, offices, service areas and a room housing the trophies and photographic material from the many years the originator of the idea has spent in motor racing.
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The restrained lines of the design and the choice of materials were dictated by the conviction that “nothing should shine more than the exhibits”, which are already highly charged, both as forms and colours and as carriers of memory and history.
Particular attention was paid to the treatment of the background, so as to showcase the objects effectively while allowing visitors, as they tour the collection, to follow step by step the journey from the horse-drawn carriage to the dream of the automobile.
The materials used are aniegre wood for the reception desk, the bar and some of the cladding, glass and stainless steel for the interior partitions, and a metallic-textured wallcovering, all in a satin finish and without colour accents. Classic Le Corbusier sofas furnish the bar and complete a set of design choices that aim not to distract visitors from the exhibit, which is ideally showcased by the great protagonist: the lighting.
The lighting strategy was to create exceptional visual interest. To achieve this, the levels of general lighting in the space were kept to a minimum, great emphasis was placed on the colour contrast between object and background, and different sources (with similar colour rendering and colour temperature) were used, with different beam angles and from different directions.
Architects: Lydia Kouvatsou, Dimitris Asariotakis
Lighting Design: Diathlasis
Photographs: Apostolos Kaliakmanis
