From Canada to Berlin and from Berlin to Athens. How was this transition?
I have always wanted to spend time in Greece, the country where my parents originated. Having grown up in Canada, where winters can be long and cold, and spending over half my life in Berlin, where the lack of light can also affect your psychology, I decided to finally make the leap to realise a long-held dream. My motto has always been, both literally and figuratively, “move towards the light.” Living in Greece, particularly in Athens, has always meant exactly that – being bathed in sunlight for most of the year. It is a blessing that I will never take for granted. So, the transition was quite a natural one, an innate calling, you could say.

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Which are your 3 favorite neoclassical buildings in Athens, and where are they located?
Athens is full of beautiful, neoclassical gems, emblematic of its glorious, yet many of them today lie abandoned and forlorn. I can only speak for those depicted on my account, fortunate enough to have explored some from within. However, three buildings stand out most for me:

1. The Spathari Building at Mavromateon 39, an eclectic-style structure blending Art Nouveau and Art Deco elements, commanding views over Pedio Tou Areos park.
2. The Hotel Sans Rival building on Liosion Street, near Plateia Vathis, slated to reopen as a hotel at some unknown point in time.
3. And last but not least, one of Athens’ oldest polikatoikia buildings at the corner of Patission and Laskaratou, originally built by a shipowner named Giannoulatos.

Besides Kypseli -where you are established now-, which other areas of the city centre do you think retain the charm of old Athens?
I believe that surrounding areas like Plateia Amerikis, Kato Patissia, and Plateia Viktorias conceal many gems that, until recently, most people did not really care to acknowledge or visit due to the economic decline these areas have undergone in the last twenty years or so. While the exteriors of buildings in Plaka and Psirri have been retained and renovated, many of their interiors, with generic Airbnb renovations, have completely extinguished the authenticity and identity of old Athens. Many of my foreign clients looking to buy properties here therefore insist on finding a non-renovated apartment and place high value on original materials such as terrazzo flooring, herringbone wood floors, and the ever-beloved chunky marble sinks.

How important is it for you to maintain the sense of ‘neighbourhood’ versus urban alienation in the center of Athens?
I believe that Athens is one of the few cities in Europe whose city centre is still alive with a sense of “neighbourhood,” despite the sprawl of Airbnb. However, in residential areas such as Kypseli, Exarcheia, Gyzi, and Plateia Amerikis, it is important to place a limitation on Airbnb.
Furthermore, I think the polikatoikia, as a building typology that strongly characterises Athens’ repetitive urban landscape, has historically naturally fostered this sense of neighbourhood within a single building. While the homogeneity of polikatoikia buildings may appear monotonous to many, demographically, they have nurtured a unique form of urban community, especially in areas like Kypseli. The close proximity of neighbours encourages solidarity and shared experiences among residents, creating tight-knit communities within the chaos of urbanity. Sometimes, however, this can also lead to the nosy-neighbour-syndrome, haha…

What interior architectural elements catch your attention first while entering a new and unknown space?
In neoclassical buildings, it is usually the ornate, moulded ceilings and lofty heights of the spaces, as well as the internal wooden stairs that sometimes resemble metaphorical “skirts” cascading down from the floor above.
In Bauhaus buildings, it is the solid wooden handrails in the stairwells and the typical white Pendelic marble steps.
In polikatoikia buildings, it is the marble-clad lobbies juxtaposed with wooden wall panelling, and of course, the intricate designs of the metal entrance doors. The typical marble sinks in the kitchen and extensive wooden cabinets above – the ones we often find ourselves accidentally banging our heads on, since the counters were much narrower than today’s standard 60cm. Oh, and let’s not forget those vintage bathroom tiles in powdery, pastel hues of pink, turquoise, or mint green… dreamy indeed!
Very often, many of the apartments I view are like film sets or frozen moments in time. One half expects the inhabitants to return after stepping out for a while… Furniture, clothes, cluttered dishes, personal belongings, heirloom pieces from past generations, religious icons, family pictures – all left behind, each telling a story yet leaving a blank for you as a visitor to fill in. I am often deeply moved by what I see. I imagine the laughter, the cries, the arguments, the love, the intimacy, and the ever-so-touching human condition as a whole.

Do you prefer preserving traditional materials in a space over replacing them with new ones? Is it for sustainability, superior quality, or aesthetics?
I believe it’s a combination of all three factors. I think, like most people who have an aesthetic sense for authenticity, I’ve grown weary of generic Airbnb renovations that have nothing to do with the identity of a place. Visitors from across Europe and North America genuinely value traditional materials like terrazzo floors, vintage tiles, and marble sinks found in old Athenian apartments – elements that locals have often discarded insensitively for years. It’s indeed important to move with the times and renovate and refurbish old apartments. They definitely do not work with the ergonomic requirements of today.

However, a greater sensitivity towards what we throw out would be appropriate for two main reasons: firstly, to reduce the colossal masses of waste and minimise our increasingly destructive imprint on the environment, sustainability and recycling are absolutely imperative. Secondly, people are awakening to the fact that these traditional materials are part of a place’s architectural heritage, and there’s a growing realisation of their imminent disappearance everywhere. Consequently, I believe the trend is thankfully beginning to reverse. I also like to think that athens__mon_amour has played a part in this shift.

Share your top 3 Athenian building entrances.

1. Fokionos Negri 54, Kypseli: A very unique Art Deco metal door, featuring a typical 1930s sunray design.
2. Dionisiou Areopagitou 27: A 1960s solid wood door framed by a metal punctured grid screen wall, evoking a James Bond-like aesthetic, with views overlooking the Acropolis.
3. Ithakis 31, Kypseli: An exquisite 1930s Art Deco entrance, notable as the building where Odysseus Elytis lived during the height of World War II.

Favourite Greek architect of that time?​​​​​​​
I would say Aristomenis Proveleggios, who designed the iconic Au Revoir Bar on Patission Street, is responsible for one of the oldest bars in Athens, which has become a veritable “institution” in its own right. Recently, I discovered from the current owner that Proveleggios, along with his students of architecture, designed the bar in 1957 as a collaborative effort, with the students applying their craftsmanship and building it with their own hands. I also learned that Proveleggios studied in France and worked for several years with Le Corbusier, the world-famous modernist architect of the early twentieth century. This puts Proveleggios even one notch higher in my books.

Amidst the urban chaos that characterizes it, is Athens ultimately a beautiful city?
It certainly is, in an unconventional, non-conformist way. Athens has absolutely captured my heart, as well as the hearts of many foreigners who have made it their home base in recent years. It is a city laden with history, unapologetic -in your face-, gritty, and irresistibly beautiful all at once. The warmth of the people, the quality of life, proximity to the islands, this incredible light, make it addictive indeed.