maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design

maison bardot's unique design resists the generic feel of conventional galleries, challenging curators to incorporate local architecture.

myrto katsikopoulou July 9, 2024 4 min

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MPNYC architects unveil new gallery space in antiparos, greece

Located on the island of Antiparos, Greece, Maison Bardot is an interdisciplinary gallery space created from the renovation of a Cycladic home. Designed by MPNYC architects Andreas Kostopoulos and James McNally, the project extends the Bardot bar and restaurant, which was designed in 2023, transforming a former shipbuilder’s home into a Greek-focused dining experience. The design combines traditional craft with contemporary influences, using hay, clay, and limestone stucco on the facade, and white limestone wash in the grotto-like interior spaces, a common feature in the Greek Isles.

Bardot and Maison Bardot together aim to embody the responsible transformation of the broader Greek Islands. Instead of populating the main strip with exploitative tourist traps, the spaces seek to highlight local craftsmanship and enliven the public realm. Restored facades using traditional techniques and vibrant outdoor seating enhance the streetscape, creating a new civic and cultural hub where design, leisure, hospitality, and street life converge.

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 1 — all images by Yiorgos Kaplanidis

Maison Bardot Merges Cycladic Design with Contemporary Art

Maison Bardot extends the modern Cycladic design language of Bardot (find more here) into a new space. MPNYC architects (find more here) envisioned this gallery as a ‘white box’ gone native, featuring gradually curving walls that distort typical exhibition room geometries. Ridged stucco walls create horizontal perspective lines, enhancing this effect. Terra cotta tiles add a touch of ochre, transitioning from floor surfaces into three-dimensional podiums and walls for displaying objects and artworks. A free-standing partition, not touching the walls or ceiling, divides the front and back areas, leading visitors to a hidden rear gallery with a view of a wild garden. An oversized lightbox provides an even, diffuse glow throughout the space.

The result is a versatile space accommodating various cultural uses, including its inaugural collaboration with Antiqua, an Athens-based antiquarian known for its world-class mid-century furniture and objects. Maison Bardot’s unique design resists the generic feel of conventional galleries, challenging curators to incorporate local architecture. For Antiqua, this means an eclectic range of international objects by notable designers like Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce, Tito Agnoli, and Afra e Tobia Scarpa, which engage in a unique dialogue with the minimal Cycladic space, re-contextualizing each other in new ways.

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 2 — inside the Maison Bardot gallery

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 3 — Maison Bardot is characterized by a modern Cycladic design language

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 4 — the windows and light box fill the gallery space with light patterns

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 5 — terra cotta tiles add a touch of ochre to the gallery

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 6 — Maison Bardot’s unique design resists the generic feel of conventional galleries

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 7 — ridged stucco walls create horizontal perspective lines

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 8 — this gallery is envsioned as a ‘white box’ gone native

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 9 — the design of the gallery combines traditional craft with contemporary influence

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 10 — Maison Bardot’s unique design resists the generic feel of conventional galleries

maison-bardot-gallery-paros-greece-designboom-full-01 — the result is a versatile space accommodating various cultural uses

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 11 — restored facades using traditional techniques and vibrant outdoor seating complete the Bardot and Maison Bardot projects

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 12 — the outdoor spaces of the Bardot bar and restaurant

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 13 — the outdoor spaces of the Bardot bar and restaurant

maison bardot gallery in antiparos, greece, blends cycladic architecture & mid-century design - 14 — the architectural design embraces both traditional craft without indulging in nostalgia

maison-bardot-gallery-paros-greece-designboom-full-02 — the result is a seamless convergence of techniques, eras, styles, and cultures

project info:

name: Maison Bardot
architects: MPNYC (Andreas Kostopoulos and James McNally)
location: Antiparos, Greece