The project is about a two-story house on the provincial road that connects Mytilene and Loutra overlooking the Gulf of Gera. The original requirement of the program for two houses was the reason for the creation of two geometrically strict volumes, with few openings to the north and large openings to the south. The two residences would have shared outdoor living spaces, which would be used so that the residences could maintain contact both morphologically and functionally. The change of the original program and the need to design a single residence led to the preservation of the two original volumes and their completion with a series of other geometric elements that arose from the need to create comfortable shaded outdoor spaces that will contribute to the energy efficiency of the building, especially during the summer months. The exterior spaces do not arise "arbitrarily" but with the interaction of the volumes of the building. In other places we have the "partial omission" of a space from the original building volume, in some others the "extension" of an existing volume, and elsewhere the "addition" of an entire new volume. This "geometric game" of volumes leads to the breaking up of the large volume of the building and its smooth adaptation to the surrounding area of the olive grove.
The initial goal of the study, apart from satisfying the requirements of the program, the functionality of the spaces, and the correct orientation for the best view towards the Gulf of Gera, also concerned the creation of a building that would be clearly placed in the space, making its presence clearly visible without altering the character of the olive grove. Thus, while natural materials (stone, etc.) were used to shape the surrounding area and an effort was made for small earthwork interventions that would not alter the landscape, the building volume, on the contrary, does not "try" to integrate into the landscape, but to exist independently and respect the surrounding area with its multi-layered form and the appropriately chosen colors (olive and ochre).
Date / 2013
Area / 250 m2
Location / Gulf of Yera, Lesvos
Collaborators / Michail Konos: Structural Engineer
Status / Completed