CTRLZAK completes Bubo restaurant in greece’s ekies resort
At the Ekies All Senses Resort in northern Greece, CTRLZAK design studio unveils Bubo, a restaurant inspired by komorebi, the poetic Japanese term for sunlight filtering through trees. Developed by Thanos Zakopoulos and Katia Meneghini, the studio draws a conceptual thread between this architectural project and Zakopoulos’ recent art installation at the same resort, which used charred pine as a metaphor for destruction and rebirth (find designboom’s previous coverage here). In Bubo, komorebi becomes the conceptual guide that shapes an atmosphere where light, structure, and texture create the feeling of walking through a forest. The interior draws from the rhythms and systems of the surrounding pines, inviting guests to feel part of it.
images courtesy of CTRLZAK
tree-like columns support perforated metal ceiling
Italian-Greek studio CTRLZAK interprets komorebi as a metaphor for ecological connection and the subtle rhythms of the natural world, sunlight, water, air, and matter in constant exchange. In the dining space of Bubo, angled columns rise like tree trunks, supporting a canopy of perforated metal ceiling panels that hide lighting and ventilation behind a pattern reminiscent of vascular tissue in pine needles. Working with Reflect Lights, CTRLZAK creates a play of light and shadow that recalls walking through a forest, where sunlight breaks through the foliage in quiet moments of clarity and wonder.
Bespoke furniture, dining tables, sofas, dividers, and curtains, is part of the forest narrative. Materials drawn from the local landscape, such as earthy plasters and Greek marble, further ground the restaurant in its context. The stone flooring features a subtle gradient of two regional marbles, which dissolve into one another as the space opens toward the beach.
CTRLZAK design studio unveils Bubo, a restaurant inspired by komorebi
water installation reflects mountain-to-sea flow
That same attention to elemental transitions is visible in the bathroom, which is envisioned as a cave-like retreat. Designed as a kind of contemporary sanctuary, it channels the idea of water emerging from the mountain. A spring-like installation releases water through the stone wall and out into an exterior fountain, reimagining the mountain-to-sea flow in architectural form. Nearby, a mural and custom-made outdoor furniture evoke geological stratification, exploring the ongoing transformation of the terrain and the layered histories embedded in it.
CTRLZAK’s design celebrates the unseen dimensions of the natural world, from cellular structures to ancient stone, reminding us of our place within an interconnected whole.
angled columns rise like tree trunks
bespoke furniture is part of the forest narrative
a pattern reminiscent of vascular tissue in pine needles
earthy plasters and Greek marble further ground the restaurant in its context
a spring-like installation releases water through the stone wall
reimagining the mountain-to-sea flow in architectural form
a mural and custom-made outdoor furniture evoke geological stratification
the stone flooring features two regional marbles
CTRLZAK creates a play of light and shadow that recalls walking through a forest
perforated metal ceiling panels hide lighting and ventilation
project info:
name: Bubo Restaurant
architect: CTRLZAK | @ctrlzak
location: Ekies All Senses Resort | @ekiesresort, Chalkidiki, Greece
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