HARD ROCK CAFE GLYFADA

Packed among some of Athens' best known night clubs, upscale restaurants, cafes and shops, Glyfada is the place to be. It could be argued that it is one of the most "Americanized" of Athenian municipalities as an American airbase was located nearby in the 70's. The base's population contributed in part to Glyfada's character, leading to a unique blend of Greek and American atmosphere and cuisine. The project had to match the Hard Rock history with the Greek culture and philosophy of entertainment. Locally based interior designer Dimitris Economou took over the challenge of making a successful Hard Rock Cafe since the brand's motto is: "every new Hard Rock is better than the last one", and he made it. Glyfada's competition was very hard. Hard Rock Cafe brand is strong but it would be situated among other cafes and restaurants with high designing standards and funs. So the project had to be awesome. It was decided that this cafe would have to have a special characteristic. So Dimitris designed the biggest European guitar made of steel wire and led cords, different enough than other HRC guitars in the world, to decorate the restaurant's entrance, leading the way of the customer in the restaurant/cafe. And during night its lighting creates a very interesting decorative element for those who sit outside enjoying dinner or cocktails. Interior and exterior are united when the fully removable glass panels are packed in the two sides of the cafe. Greek people always want to enjoy their good and sunny weather and have direct contact with the exterior. Many modern wooden coverings create warmth overcoming the coldness of the moving glasses. The cafe's character is more minimal than Hard Rock Cafe standards, but still keeping the "rocky id" of the place. Memorabilia play double role in the project. That of decoration, and that of separation since there was luck of many walls and some of them were placed in the middle of the dining area separating sofas making the cafe look "busy" from outside. Vivid colors reflect a more modern mood together with the decorative touches such as the wooden cut-out guitar necks on the bar ceiling or the "equalizer" bar with the led lighting inside. The luminous effects are many. Many asymmetrical lights hanging from the ceiling and the 69 led buttons on the quilted wall of the moving live stage are some of the elements that make the project atmospherical and fully attracting the eye from the people passing by. Special attention was given in the communication of the ground floor and the mezzanine. A hole was opened in the mezzanine floor so that there is clear contact of the two floors. The opening was covered with glass so that the mezzanine could be sound proof and be able to hold events or parties with different music than the rest of the cafe, but without estranging people of the two levels. The lower part of the mezzanine opening was decorated with 38 real guitar necks that were cut and placed on the ceiling of the ground floor so that they could attract the eye to the mezzanine leading the customer upstairs.