The underground ‘Liknon’ wine museum by K-studio gently meanders into the picturesque landscape of Samos Island

Aiming to connect the Metaxa brand to its roots, K-studio designed LIKNON, an underground wine museum, located in a 100-year-old vineyard on Samos Island, where the sweet muscat grape, a particular ingredient, grows. The project is a prominent landmark in the valley beneath the neighboring village of Vourliotes, thanks to its rusticated stone walls.

The architects at K-Studio designed the Liknon museum with ‘the vine as the protagonist,’ shaping the architecture as an exploratory journey through the habitat of the grapes. “Rather than a building, it is a landscape, where the visitor wanders around and under the vines’ birthplace, submerges underground in order to get in touch with the history of the brand through an interactive experience and a series of sensory activations”, says K-Studio team.

“The building, with its distinctive style and architecture, is an extension of the productive dry stone terraces where vines grow and borrows the dynamic and roughness of the natural and traditional productive landscape in order to blend into the valley”.

Together with the experience in the Kifisia premises, LIKNON showcases not only the origins of Metaxa but also the continuation and expansion of its production circle beyond its limits, through experimental new products and practices, as well as the exciting exploration of the drink’s textures when it is found in a table with local goods.

The architects note that “instead of a building, Liknon is a landscape, borrowing the dynamic of manmade stonewalls that blend into the valley. Following the traces of an ancient path, it unravels onto consecutive plateaus held by ‘pezoules’, taking the visitor on a walkthrough around and under the vines’ birthplace, submerging underground in order to get in touch with the roots of the brand through an interactive experience and a series of sensory activations”.

Facts & Credits:

Project title: LIKNON, Typology: Wine Museum, Location: Samos Island – Greece, Architecture: K-Studio, Design team: Dimitris Karampatakis – Christos Spetseris – Stavros Kotsikas – Marina Leventaki – Achilleas Pliakos – Argyris Mavronikolas – Arianna Mechili – Dimitris Eleftheriadis – Natassa Kallou – Thalia Sachinidi, 3D Visualization: Bakagiannis Pavlos, Branding designer: Daphne Stathis, Project management: CONJEKT, Surveyor: Georgoudis Michalis – Palaiokastritis Yannis, Planning consultant: Palaiokastritis Yannis, Structural consultant: Elliniki Meletitiki (Aggelos Ladas), Mechanical engineer: CONAP (Andreas Psaroudakis), Lighting designer: LAST | Lighting Architecture Studio (Aris Klonizakis), Landscape designer: FYTRON (Petsagourakis Michalis), A/V consultant & supplier: PANOU SYSTEMS, Kitchen consultant: XENEX – INOXLAND, Main contractor: BALLIAN, Built area: 380 square meters, Completion year: 2022, Text description: K-Studio, Photography: Nikos Daniilidis (Cover photo) – Claus Brechenmacher & Reiner Baumann Photography

Contractors & Suppliers:

Metal works: BALLIAN – QOOP (bar), Wood works: DESPOTAKIS, Window – Door Frames: ORAMA – TSIMPIKOS (Aluminium) – DESPOTAKIS (Wood), Tile Cladding: BALLIAN, Wall Renders: DEVELTIME – DEVETZOGLOU, Custom Stone Sinks: KAMBOURAKIS MARBLES (Crete), Custom Tables: KNOCK (Thanasis Papapostolou), Chairs & Stools: MIA COLLECTION, Tiles: VOKOS, Stone: ICARIA STONE (Walls) – PELION STONE (Floor), Floor and Kitchen Tops Marble: KAMBOURAKIS MARBLES (Crete), Sanitary Ware: PATIRIS, Kitchen: INOXLAND, Plants: Martha Koniari