Located in Piraeus, Greece—one of Europe’s largest commercial ports and a vital transportation hub connecting the mainland with the Greek islands—the Mole Pharmacy stands as one of the largest pharmacies in the country. Designed by KLab Architects, the project site sits close to the port area, where many traditional warehouses have been repurposed as nightclubs.
The architects aimed to preserve and strengthen the existing stone walls while renovating the buildings, creating a fresh and engaging shopping experience. Drawing inspiration from the site’s maritime context, new concrete structures and facades were designed to inject new vitality into both the port and the city. Notably, the building’s facade, inspired by a ship’s deck, establishes a meaningful dialogue between the renovated pharmacy and the vessels docked nearby.
A striking triangular structure, clad with perforated metal panels, crowns the pharmacy, making the building visible from across the port of Piraeus. The exterior features stepped pathways, laying the groundwork for a future botanical garden. This renovated building maintains a cohesive and thoughtful relationship with the adjacent port both conceptually and spatially.
Inside, a new mezzanine was introduced within the expansive space of the original warehouse to better connect circulation flows throughout the pharmacy. A spiral staircase links the ground floor and mezzanine, adding a dynamic curvature to the interior and facilitating access between levels. This curved area also accommodates conference rooms and office spaces. The interior design strongly reflects the exterior facade’s maritime-inspired formal language, creating a cohesive architectural narrative that resonates with the oceanic theme.
The pharmacy’s first floor serves as the main retail area and includes a small laboratory. The internal layout guides customers through various sections organized by medication types. However, the architect’s primary focus was to design a space where every visitor can visually connect with others, creating an engaging and theatrical shopping experience.
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Above the mezzanine, the pharmacy’s second floor features a multifunctional space. On weekdays, this area hosts yoga classes and drama-themed workshops—a highly unusual concept for a pharmacy. The architects hope this innovative use will enrich the customer experience, potentially transforming this space into a communal living room within the pharmacy over time.
The design places strong emphasis on offering customers a unique spatial experience and carefully balancing the relationship between the interior and natural lighting. From the top floor, visitors enjoy unobstructed views that connect the inside of the pharmacy with the surrounding cityscape and the sea. The building’s structure is steel-based, with a facade composed of perforated aluminum panels. This is complemented by exposed brick walls, wooden flooring on the mezzanine, and cement self-leveling on the ground floor. The ceilings and remaining walls are finished with simple white gypsum boards.
The pharmacy’s product displays are designed with a museum-like exhibition approach, providing customers with a unique and immersive browsing experience. The strong connection between the interior spaces and the innovative exterior design respects the cultural heritage of the site, offering a distinctive shopping environment.
Design Drawings:
▲ First Floor Plan
▲ Second Floor Plan
▲ Third Floor Plan
▲ Roof Plan
▲ Elevation View
▲ Sectional View
Project Information:
Architectural Firm: KLab Architecture
Location: Piraeus, Greece
Category: Pharmacy
Lead Architect: Konstantinos Labrinopoulos
Design Team: Veronika Vasileiou
Building Area: 600.0 m2
Year: 2017
Photographer: Mariana Bisti
Client: Mole Pharmacy
Engineer: Ypsilon Ltd
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