top perspective

Xerolithia house

Kea island, Xerolithia, 220 m2


The house has been designed as a dialogue between two major architectural typologies of the island. The concept of the house is derived from a close study of the traditional land sculpting and terracing, a means used by the islanders for developing agriculture These small retaining walls (xerolithia) that were constructed in the landscape by the people of the island who's aim was to construct flat areas of land on an otherwise mountainous volcanic landscape of Tzia to make land suitable for the cultivation of food. The second is the simple vernacular white cubical houses that form the
villages of the island.
The house respects the tradition vernacular architecture but tries to reinterpret it in a new and interesting way. A White cube stands out on the retaining stone wall. The Stone wall becomes a house which is hidden in the slopping terrain. The entrance is contained within a hidden protected courtyard at the back which also brings light into the house.
The windows situated in the stone walls have removable shutters constructed to mimic the stone when the houses owners are not inhabiting the house in order to maintain the simplicity and security of the building. When they are opened they revel to the inhabitants the wonderful spectacle of the sea view
This house confronts tradition. It draws on vernacular Greek architecture to investigate a new Greek contemporary architectural language. The building’s section steps are designed in harmony with the landscape thus creating a sequence of public and private spaces for private meditation. The result is a house which emerges out of the landscape and creates an absorbing study of island architecture.
The house unfolds in three levels. Ground floor with living and dining room ,entrance space and kitchen and a w.c. The upper level forms the masterbedroom suite and in the lower level two bedrooms with a bathroom.
On the same site there is at the back and higher the guest house. Guest house mirrors the same logic in a smaller scale with two bedrooms and a living room kitchen area.
The paths the two buildings and the path that leads to the sea are made by stone following the natural steep
inclination of the ground.

Εξοχική Κατοικία στην Τζιά

Κέα, 220 m2


The house has been designed as a dialogue between two major architectural typologies of the island. The concept of the house is derived from a close study of the traditional land sculpting and terracing, a means used by the islanders for developing agriculture These small retaining walls (xerolithia) that were constructed in the landscape by the people of the island who's aim was to construct flat areas of land on an otherwise mountainous volcanic landscape of Tzia to make land suitable for the cultivation of food. The second is the simple vernacular white cubical houses that form the
villages of the island.
The house respects the tradition vernacular architecture but tries to reinterpret it in a new and interesting way. A White cube stands out on the retaining stone wall. The Stone wall becomes a house which is hidden in the slopping terrain. The entrance is contained within a hidden protected courtyard at the back which also brings light into the house.
The windows situated in the stone walls have removable shutters constructed to mimic the stone when the houses owners are not inhabiting the house in order to maintain the simplicity and security of the building. When they are opened they revel to the inhabitants the wonderful spectacle of the sea view
This house confronts tradition. It draws on vernacular Greek architecture to investigate a new Greek contemporary architectural language. The building’s section steps are designed in harmony with the landscape thus creating a sequence of public and private spaces for private meditation. The result is a house which emerges out of the landscape and creates an absorbing study of island architecture.
The house unfolds in three levels. Ground floor with living and dining room ,entrance space and kitchen and a w.c. The upper level forms the masterbedroom suite and in the lower level two bedrooms with a bathroom.
On the same site there is at the back and higher the guest house. Guest house mirrors the same logic in a smaller scale with two bedrooms and a living room kitchen area.
The paths the two buildings and the path that leads to the sea are made by stone following the natural steep
inclination of the ground.