25 Dec 2024 | Interviews,People

Teras: Design that carries a forgotten facet of Athens by Harry Rigalo

The concept cafe-bar in Neos Kosmos that promotes design through its every day use

DS.WRITER:

Sophia Throuvala

Central Image: Portrait of the designer Harry Rigalo Χάρη Ρηγάλου, Antonis Agridopoulos instagram

On the corner of Theodoritou and Vrasthenis street in Neos Kosmos, a non-tourist area of Central Athens, one encounters the preservable 1930s building that today operates as a concept cafe-bar under the name “teras”. It was entirely designed by its owner, designer Harry Rigalo, and its philosophy is centred around sustainable and collectable design.

The space is arranged and decorated with second-hand furniture and materials that Harry found, collected and reused by taking them apart and reassembling parts of the old furniture, composing them into new bodies. The all-day bar is lined with handmade collectable compositions by Harry, while the designer clearly separates the interior, which functions as an experiential utilitarian showroom, from the exterior -the terrace- which is more uniform and invites people to use it. Relying on references that trigger the collective memory, Harry created spaces that make us recall the familiar and safe conditions of our childhood. As he tells us "every piece of furniture or object, at whatever scale it is in relation to space, attempts to represent an emotion."

Shot by Antonis Agridopoulos instagram

Going into Teras, the visitor-user encounters a space made of many different pieces of furniture that carry with them their different techniques, materials, traditions and styles all articulated, as Harry calls them, into a "material collage". The warm, boho or rough industrial or even more pluralistic furniture that is placed around creates an amazing condition in which, as the designer explained to us, the visitors can "choose" the set that matches their disposition. Thus, just as different people visit a space, the space here offers them different versions of its use and enjoyment. The furniture inside is for sale, making the bar also function as an exhibition, something particularly original in Athens. In addition, the purchase of the furniture within this condition means the acquisition of an object that has been made from objects-memories of other objects and times as well as the acquisition of an object that was in use in an entertainment venue in Athens, thus having registered even more memories.

Shot by Antonis Agridopoulos instagram

A key feature of the Teras project is the intention to bring forth what we call familiar and family. With a “cross-class” character and earnest openness, the outdoor space, the so-called terrace, is a jumble of memories mainly due to the shape of the furniture. It’s reminiscent of a village, a public park, a bar near a beach or a campsite, our granny’s yard and open-air cinemas. The white and blue colours somehow manage to detach themselves from being symbols for the Aegean and are universalised in a condition reminiscent of kaymak ice cream. As Harry tells us, there was nothing specific in his mind when he designed the space, he just wanted to be surprised by what the creative process itself led him to and by the "amalgamation" of the components of the space and the location, something that is evident in the visitor because of the amazing familiarity they feel when they arrive at the neoclassical building.

Shot by Antonis Agridopoulos instagram

The preservable neoclassical house, in a particularly typical terracotta-orange-pink colour, hosts an additional floor where exhibitions of various art forms, seminars, book presentations, and yoga classes are held, while there are several more ideas in the works such as screenings and small design festivals. As Harry confides to us, he would very much like to promote Athenian Design through this space. In particular, one of the reasons why Teras was created was the lack of design presence in the area, in which, as Harry points out, although there are many garages, workshops and generally manufacturing spaces, there are no design exhibition spaces and therefore there is no contact and acquaintance with it.

As Harry told us, the project is still alive and constantly changing, especially on the interior floors of the building. His interest is focused on how the space can constantly change its identity by the people who visit it and the furniture that it hosts. How people choose the visual-design language that suits them and reject others. How this free choice is communicated to Harry himself and constantly transforms the space into new memories and emotions.