’BMYLEKKA’
2019
Athens, Greece

In the heart of Athens, on Lekka street, there is an arcade with many shops that remains “invisible” to the hasty pedestrians. In the framework of This is Athens-Polis programme, the lighting design team ASlight was called by the arcade’s manager to design a temporary installation for the promotion and the increase of traffic in the arcade.

Project Manager: Vaso Alexandri
Supply and Installation of Lighting Fixtures: Alexandros Logothetis
Panel Construction, Installation and Signage: Giannis & Vasilis Vlachakis Workshop
Photography: Gavriil Papadiotis [GavriiLux]

The primary concern of the design team was the upgrade of the existing lighting, that would improve the quality of shopkeepers’ daily routine in the long run. At the same time, it was key to make the arcade eye-catching for pass-byers, colourful semi-transparent panels of three different colours were hanged along the roof. Their interaction with the lighting fixtures as well as their colour blending creates different perspectives for the pedestrians, inviting them into the arcade. Atthe core of the arcade, the atrium is ‘filled’ with a hanging structure of decomposed panels, that interact with both wind and natural light.

During the day, the arcade looks festive and welcomes the visitors to the ‘opening’ of its new colourful reality. As the night falls and the city lights up, the arcade is ‘dressing up’ with its evening appearance; the two entrances create a coloured threshold that converses with the area bar lights, inviting the adventurers inside. Inside, the illuminated structure of the atrium “paints” the skylight, with a magical fresco that changes every night.

The intervention is implemented as part of the This is Athens-Polis programme.