“A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and individuals.
A short time before he dies, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face.”
Jorge Luis Borges
On a stone mountain slope, above the sea in Southern Greece, a three house complex was designed for a family. The steep slope of the plot, the view towards the sea, the orientation, and the century-old history of the place, along with the ascetic spirit were some of the most fundamental factors that shaped the architecture of this project.
The design seeks to achieve, with the minimal intervention to the natural landscape, a structure that is born from the ground and creates the qualities of the Mediterranean living; the inside - the outside - the in-between. At the same time, it creates all the necessary levels of privacy that a home requires. The synthetic intentions of the project could be described with 4 distinct gestures.
Finally, this architectural approach attempts, with the very same material of the land, to include all uses in an absolutely straight line. With the least bit of effort and work, it seeks to meet the labyrinth of the spatial needs of the modern human, all the while remaining faithful to the spirit of the minimal and absolute necessary shaped this land over the centuries.
Probably Jorge Luis Borges was right. “The labyrinth is not only that intricate form that can entrap us forever, but sometimes could be a single and precise straight line.”
Architects: Alkiviadis Pyliotis, Konstantinos Pyliotis Contributor: Chrysothemi Kouloumenta 3D Visualization: blankwall.avs Mechanical Engineer Consultant: Sourilas Konstantinos (KNS engineering consultants), Sculptor of Marble Model: Georgakas Fotis Location: Mani, Greece Area: 320 m^2 Project Year: 2019 Project Type: Commission, Project Status: Under Construction