Page 66 - MYCONIAN COLLECTION MAGAZINE 2025

DESIGN

An

Architect’s

Ode

to Sunrise

Galal Mahmoud,

President of GM

Architects, redraws the

contours of Mykonian

simplicity.

A retreat that unfolds like first light—quietly, purposefully, and in tune with its place.

WHEN RENOWNED architect Galal Mahmoud was within such a setting: rooms flow effortlessly to sunlit and fresh. It honours the island’s raw beauty through light, and resonate with internal freedom. “Benchmark
invited to reimagine a historic Mykonos property on the terraces, shaded by mature Tamarisk trees; public areas, designs that feel both time-honoured and entirely in Mykonos,” he confesses—a quiet confidence rooted
unspoilt shores of Agrari, he didn’t simply renovate. He like Almiriki Restaurant & Beach Club, become extensions contemporary. Whether you’re lingering in your suite in the belief that architecture’s greatest gift is not grand
listened. To the land, the light, the wind. The result was of their coastal backdrop—bathed in airy sage greens and as candlelight flickers across your terrace, or lingering gestures, but a whispered invitation. To rest. To breathe.
Sunrise — not a hotel, but a poetic gesture in space. sea-foam neutrals, enhanced by basketry-style pendants and over jasmine tea under the Tamarix canopy at To belong.
With every curved wall, every textured surface, Mahmoud carved wall motifs recalling dune grass. Here, design doesn’t Almiriki, you sense a place shaped by place. For Galal Sunrise stands not merely as new architecture—it stands
translated the Cycladic spirit into a tactile experience dictate—it listens. Curved carpentry mimics rocky coves; Mahmoud, the programme was simple yet profound: as an experience, distilled in light, grounded in Mykonian
of calm, authenticity and barefoot sophistication. bespoke headboards are hand-painted with wave-like forms, create spaces that flow with the land, reflect local spirit, and perfected by design that listens. •
From the first glimpse of Sunrise’s low-slung silhouette echoing the sea’s motion and injecting a touch of playful
against the Agrari coastline, it’s clear this is no ordinary nostalgia inspired by Mykonian sunsets of old.
retreat. The vision emerges from a profound dialogue
between architecture and nature—and nowhere is that Elegant Simplicity, Elevated
more evident than in the thoughtful stewardship of Mahmoud’s intent was never to overpower the landscape,
Galal Mahmoud, key creative partner of the Myconian but to let his architecture disappear into it. “Crafting
Collection. Mahmoud describes Sunrise as “a seamless environments that practically disappear into the existing
relationship between the indoors and the magnificent natural environment” was his guiding principle—and the
outdoors." His design ethos draws upon the island's result is elemental yet elegant. Every finish, every line,
soul—sculptural forms that echo the curves of the land, speaks of authenticity: locally sourced timber, terracotta
materials that speak of sun-warmed earth, whitewashed hues, hand-woven textiles, and rough-textured plaster fill the
tradition, and the soothing driftwood tones of the Aegean. spaces with tactile calm and understated luxury. This is not
This is Cycladic simplicity reinterpreted: architecture maximalism—it’s minimalism with soul. It’s sunshine captured
rooted in place yet elevated by contemporary artistry. in materials, sunset whispered in textures, and the limitless
freedom of Mykonos woven into the very bones of your stay.
Crafting with Context
“Locations where time has stopped,” Mahmoud says, A Retreat That Breathes
offer the greatest satisfaction. Sunrise unfolds gently Sunrise captures the rhythm of Mykonos—at once familiar

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