Onassis Atrium
Multi-Purpose and Lecture Halls, Public Spaces
Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Greece 2023
Architecture
ADD Architecture Studio
Interior & Light Design
ADD Architecture Studio
ADD Architecture Studio Design Team
Dionysis Koutsioumaris, Argyris Chronopoulos
Photography
Spyros Hound Photography
Artworks
Jannis Varelas
ADD Architecture Studio, in collaboration with visual artist Jannis Varelas, undertook the renovation of the public atrium spaces and multi-purpose Lecture Halls on the top floor of the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center (OCSC). The project sought to modernize the OCSC’s public image while respecting its historical significance and enhancing various practical aspects.
The atrium prominently features a monumental steel structured dome, an element that played a key role in the design. The walls and the new cement flooring were painted in a soft gray hue , thus staying neutral so as to highlight the existing dome and create a smooth visual transition. This decision was complemented by hidden lighting that enhances the dome’s prominence, while the ceiling’s tripartite structure integrates MEP installations and lighting fixtures that align with the building’s aesthetic. Blue-hued lighting strips mark the transition from the dome towards the interior. The balustrades located at the atrium’s corners, were cladded with mirrored glass and dark marble strips in order to amplify reflections and spotlight Varelas’s artworks.
In the historical “St. Papadimitriou” Lecture Hall, a similar ceiling design plays a central role, incorporating stainless steel and curved light elements that either allign or diverge from the building’s brutalist style. Bespoke lighting fixtures designed by ADD and produced by Artemide, engage in a geometric dialogue with Varelas’s abstract floor pieces. The use of cream white rough plaster draws inspiration from the building’s structural elements, creating a cohesive dictionary of materiality throughout the space.
Black perforated surfaces are strategically used to conceal MEP installations and filter lighting, offering both functionality and visual clarity. ADD also designed the atrium’s signage, thus pushing further their design vision.
The architectural intervention aims to a harmonious dialogue between Varelas’s artworks and the interior design, provoking engaging interactions. The artworks, in contrast to the building’s rigid lines, trigger an unconscious reaction almost similar to a child’s vivid imagination and blur the lines between reality and fantasy, enriching the visitor’s experience.
