Nominated for the Mies van de Rohe European Architecture award, 2015
Completed 2014
The residence is located on the coast in a very pristine area approximately hundred meters from the water. The house is intended for weekend getaways of a single father and his three teenage children. The sparse use of the house and the largely pristine state of the surrounding landscape required a space that could easily be locked up when the residents are not present and also provide safety when they occupy the house.
A communal space is created on the ground floor that opens up to all sides providing access and visual connection with the surrounding landscape. Covered porches underneath the bedrooms can be used depending on the time of day and season.
A stair that runs along the inside perimeter of the two story communal space leads to the four bedrooms and eventually to the roof. The bedrooms have views into the central space and also out towards the waterfront. The light that enters the central tower is regulated by the doors on the ground level and by the doors and windows of each bedroom looking into the nine meter high communal area.
Light entering the double height space is dependent on the activities of the occupants and whether they choose to have a visual connection with the common living area and/or the outdoors. Light also enters the central space from the large sliding glass roof that allows access to the roof.
The independent boxes that enclose the bedrooms eliminate common walls and offer privacy for each of the teenage children and their father. The structure is a central concrete box onto which four metal frame boxes are suspended.
Photos by Marios Christodoulides, Christos Papantoniou