Press Release
Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for Oreno Mountain Retreat Hospitality Project in Hospitality, Recreation, Travel and Tourism Design
Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab honored for hospitality, recreation, travel and tourism design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 21, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Hospitality, Recreation, Travel and Tourism Design category for Oreno Mountain Retreat Hospitality Project by Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab, designed for Oreno Retreat. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Regarding Oreno Mountain Retreat Hospitality Project
Oreno Mountain Retreat is a hotel located in Tsepelovo, Zagori. The building continues the surrounding landscape by reinterpreting local principles of proportion, material, and spatial hierarchy. Load bearing stone walls and timber roof systems apply traditional techniques to contemporary standards. High thermal mass improves energy efficiency, while controlled openings guide daylight and ventilation. Integration into the slope reduces excavation. The design creates a quiet, refined atmosphere rooted in local memory and craft.
About Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab
Founded by two brothers, George and Yannis, whose shared passion and vision for architecture laid its foundation, the studio has grown into a dynamic and thoughtful design practice. Driven by a deep appreciation for form, function, and context, they set out to create spaces that are both meaningful and enduring. As the practice evolved, Konstantina joined the team, bringing a fresh perspective that enriched the studio’s creative direction and introduced a more nuanced, human-centered approach to design. Together, they continue to explore architecture as a collaborative process, blending experience, innovation, and diverse viewpoints.
Award Record
With this recognition, Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Hospitality, Recreation, Travel and Tourism Design Award
The A' Hospitality Design Award is an international hospitality design competition recognizing good hospitality designs by best hospitality designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to hospitality designers, architects, hospitality brands and hotel chains from all countries. Entries typically include hotels, restaurants, resorts, cafes, bars and cruise ships. Awarded hospitality designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/hospitality
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/183604
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/183604
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!183604
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/358650
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://g2lab.gr/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Oreno Mountain Retreat Hospitality Project
- Function
- Hospitality Project
- Category
- Hospitality, Recreation, Travel and Tourism Design
- Discipline
- Service Design
- Industry
- Food & Hospitality and Sports
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Black, Saddle Brown and Silver
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Oreno Retreat
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Giannis Efthymiadis - G2Lab
- Country
- Greece
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #183604
Credits
- Team
- Giannis Efthymiadis, Konstadina Papagianni, Giwrgos Efthymiadis, Maria Kamenou and Dimitra Gakou
- Image Credits
- Photographer Dimitris Spyrou
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This design explores architecture as an extension of place rather than an imposed object. Oreno continues the Zagori landscape by reinterpreting local principles of proportion, material, and spatial hierarchy. Its strength lies in balancing memory with contemporary living, solidity with openness. Through restraint, material continuity, and controlled light, it creates a quiet, refined atmosphere rooted in authenticity.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration for Oreno emerges from the quiet continuity of life in Zagori. It draws from the memory of people and their rhythms. Gatherings in village squares, the echo of music across the mountains, the slow passage of seasons. Tradition is not treated as a fixed image, but as a living presence, embedded in craft, in material, in proportion. Stone and earth become both structure and story, grounding the hotel in its place, while the spirit of local life shapes spaces that feel familiar, warm, and enduring.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was integrating Zagori historical and social context with modern hospitality standards. Internally, respecting local architectural memory and community traditions guided design decisions. Externally, strict heritage regulations, limited construction technologies, and site constraints demanded careful material selection, precise geometry, and iterative modeling to achieve a balance between authenticity, comfort, and environmental integration.
- Realization and Technology
- The design was developed through analysis of Zagori architectural principles proportion, material logic, and spatial hierarchy, rather than formal imitation. Local stone and timber systems informed both structure and envelope. Iterative modeling and section studies ensured integration with the terrain, while light and material continuity were refined to create a cohesive, atmospheric spatial experience.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in September 2023 in Tsepelovo, Zagori and finished in Janaury 2026
- Specifications
- Constructed with load bearing stone walls and timber roof systems, the building employs traditional techniques adapted to contemporary standards. High thermal mass improves energy efficiency, while controlled openings optimize daylight and ventilation. The integration into the slope minimizes excavation and enhances environmental performance, supported by passive design strategies.
- Keywords
- stone, wood, heritage, environment, local, fireplace, wellness, interior
