The embassy district in Athens is also home to the Representation of the European Commission. A conference room on the building’s basement proved to be unsuitable in terms of layout, too low and the technical equipment also needed updating. For this project architect Maria Paraskevopoulou from mparchitects had to take the existing building structure into account. A number of concrete girders and supports made the space seem smaller and lower than it already is (at 2.6 meters). Moreover, to improve the acoustics and lighting she opted for a continuous, angled oriented-strand-board element that focuses attention away from the distracting concrete sections and creates a uniform spatial impression. The air-conditioning and lighting installations were integrated in this wooden construction, facilitating good working conditions in the windowless room.

The architect chose a flexible furnishing concept. The room is designed to host conferences for up to 70 people, but is also to enable various other constellations. Folding-desk modules can be combined as desired and are easy to set up. The chair Myto, designed by Konstantin Grcic for Plank, suited the room’s slightly futuristic look. The elegant cantilever chairs are stacking, a feature that is very much in line with the flexible concept in use here.