The National Bank of Greece – Florina (1930)

The two-story building of the National Bank of Greece, designed by the architect Aristomenes Valvis and constructed in 1930 – 1931, located at 28 King Philippou- Aleksandrou the Great and is trademark of City of Florina
It is an extremely interesting, special-use structure, representative of the way in which influences of various architectural trends were combined with local conditions and new construction methods in this region of Greece during the interwar period, combining neo-Byzantine elements with modern trends.
The building is organized freely on the plot and at a short distance from the building line and is developed in two main levels and a semi-basement.
The functional area of the Bank is formed on the ground floor, while the manager’s residence is on the first floor.
The branch of the National Bank of Greece in Florina is an exception to the neoclassical historicism that characterizes mainly the buildings of banks. In particular, the morphological organization of the façades is in the neo-Byzantine style with references to the Viennese Secession. In this context, an imitation of an isostructural system appears in the rendering of the façades 114, where the joints are formed with mortar tile, imitating the ceramic tiles inserted in the joints of the brickwork system of the Byzantine masonry.
The floors are formed with mosaic tiles produced by the Volos factory “MEFSOUT” (1904).

TEXT SOURCE: Christina Zarkada Pistioli PhD