This house in Kea was designed and built respecting the special characteristics of its surrounding landscape and using the island’s traditional building techniques. The designed evolved around maintaining the existing flora, restructuring the site’s terracing and organizing the house in volumes that are either independent or ‘rise’ as intermediate gaps.
The building is placed on a terrace, with its entrance found in the void between the volume of the house and the terrace behind it. A path parallel to the slope of the site connects the distinct building volumes and three courtyards, each with different characteristics: a covered courtyard (in the heart of the building), a shaded one by the oak trees (close to the living room) and one exposed to the sun (at the end of the corridor). Perpendicular to the main path, the main areas of the building (the living room and the two bedrooms) open up towards the sea. The circulation and service spaces (entrance, corridors and bathrooms) are defined as voids that connect the different volumes of the main spaces.
The configuration of the flat roof corresponds to the plan of the house, as it depicts the individual volumes and the relationship between them. It also functions as the main facade of the building, directly exposed as one approaches the site. The roof is formed so as to provide cross ventilation to the main living and sleeping areas and features a system of collectors that direct the rainwater to the cistern. The house was constructed using local building techniques, with exposed concrete finishes applied to most of its surfaces (floors, external walls, internal wet areas).
