Kois Associated Architects furnishes Athens jewellery shop with metal "forest" and smoke
A veil of smoke clouds the window of this jewellery shop in Athens, behind which Kois Associated Architects has installed display cases modelled on trees (+ slideshow).
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_6.jpg)
Greek firm Kois Associated Architects imagined a forest of geometric trees when designing this shop and workspace for Athens-based jewellery designer Ileana Makri.
Smoke from a dry-ice machine is pumped into the shop window, designed to give the appearance of early morning mist.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
Rings, bracelets and necklaces made from precious metals and stones are displayed in glass vitrines of various shapes and sizes that sit proud of their metal frames.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_14.jpg)
The cases splay out around thin square-sectioned columns skewered between ceiling and floor near the shop's entrance.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
"We wanted the user to be able to explore the space with freedom as if he has arrived in a peculiar forest," said studio founder Stelios Kois, whose past projects include a house with an infinity pool as a roof.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_12.jpg)
"We wanted the space we created to detach from the usual architectural and servicing stereotypes regarding the jewellery store," he added.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
For the interior, Kois chose to use a palette of metal, glass, wood and stone to reference the raw materials used in the jeweller's work.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
Panels of a pale blue-grey sedimentary rock called Ceppo di Gre cover parts of the walls. The Italian stone has an irregular internal structure that was revealed by finely sanding and polishing the surface.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_16.jpg)
In contrast to the smooth walls and reflective surfaces of the glass display cabinets, pale timber floorboards laid in a chevron pattern have a coarse appearance.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
Plush purple armchairs and a sofa unholstered with sap-green fabric sit over the untreated timber floor, offering seating for customers.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_1.jpg)
A row of coppery spotlights runs overhead, featuring shades set at an angle to light wall displays. Fluorescent strip lighting illuminates a staircase leading to the jeweller's studio.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
Larger, sculptural pieces and a set of scented candles covered with glass bell jars are displayed over brass plinths and wall-mounted cabinets.
These furniture pieces, along with an oval mirror with brass framework, were designed by the architects and constructed by local craftsmen.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
Outside, a doorway with a blackened-oak frame is recessed into the glazed shopfront with two stone-framed display windows on either side.
In the first display window, items from the designer's new collections are shown in exhibition cases that splay out around a black metal pole. A staircase can be seen descending into the jeweller's workshop behind a grey stone wall.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
In the second window, smoke is generated by a machine using dry ice and pumped into a sealed space through concealed vents.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_20.jpg)
"We wanted to reveal not everything at once but hide aspects of the shop in order create ambiguity and depth, curiosity that would lead to a stasis in a street of constant movement," explained Kois.
"Conceptually it completes the idea of the enchanted forest and animates it as it offers a sense of the early morning mist and dew," he added.
![Ileana Makri Store by Kois Associated Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/02/Ileana-Makri-Store-by-Kois-Associated-Architects_dezeen_468_22.jpg)
Photography is by Giorgos Sfakianakis.
Project credits:
Principle architect : Stelios Kois
Project manager : Antriana Voutsina
Design team: Nikos Patsiaouras, Marielina Stavrou, Konstantinos Karanasos, Alexandros Economou
Construction : Doriki