10 Picks for Earth-Sheltered Houses

The editorial team of ek magazine selected ten architectural projects, featured in past print issues as well as the ek website, that showcase undercut architecture designs.

The house is located near Aliki, on the south coast of Paros. Several built volumes are set into the relief of the land and disappear when viewed from above. The architecture, dominated by the roughness of local stone, allows three families to collectively gather on a site whose wild beauty must be preserved. Below the access road, the gently sloping land presents three plateaus set with dry stone walls, vestiges of a distant agricultural past. The vegetation is dense and low, typical of the island of Paros. It is precisely this geography that guided the composition. The construction was excavated to integrate the roofs into the slope of the land. Craftfully designed incisions were made for entrances, terraces and shaded patios protected from the wind.

The residence stands on the western slope of Antiparos, offering views of the sea and Sifnos. Despite an 8-acre plot, the terrain’s slope and the desire for panoramic views and landscape harmony led to choosing an underground construction. Access is via a staircase at the rear, guiding visitors from the parking area to the main entrance. Upon entry, the extensive opening frames a vista of the sea, with Sifnos in the background. The living room and kitchen are centrally located in the same open space, with bedrooms on either side. The layout is linear, ensuring all rooms have sea views through large, sliding minimal windows, with direct access to the pool running alongside the building.

03. Residence in Serifos | Sinas Architects

Annual issue: Maison de Campagne 2021

The design creates a house that blends in its natural environment, comprised of steep gravel slopes, dressed in scattered wild thorny bushes, and beautiful large rock formations. The most prominent landscape features, however, were the short, dry-stone retaining walls, locally called ‘xerolithies’, created long time ago, for land cultivation purposes. These walls, usually no more than a meter high, formed flat stripes of land parallel to the slope and extended along the entire surface of the hillside. The site with its ‘xerolithies’ was the spark of inspiration. When one thinks of the Greek Islands and their vernacular architecture, scattered and stacked white boxes come to mind. The first step was to challenge this morphological preconception by imagining the main facades (front and back) of the house being formed as ‘xerolithies’. They start low and gradually develop at a sufficient height for a house. They move gently closer and away of the slope, independently from one another, forming spaces in between them. To achieve this, all the functions of the house were placed sequentially, making it long and narrow.

Located on one of California’s last remaining undeveloped coastal areas, this modern guest house resides on a wildlife preserve, exemplifying a successful balance of residential development and ecological preservation. Nestled into a steep hillside, the 170m2 residence was designed for low visual and environmental impact on the surrounding landscape. Designed as a low-rise, single-story building with a green roof, the house invites panoramic 360-degree views of the Pacific Ocean as well as the adjacent hills. Its most prominent design feature is a series of expansive decks that cantilever over the steep cliff, providing a direct view of the canyon below. In an effort to blur the line between the built and the unbuilt, the residence is designed as a “glass peninsula”, with three-way operable glass walls that seamlessly integrate the building into the landscape. The material palette is comprised of highly weather resistant materials such as steel, concrete and glass, while the custom furniture and fixtures are made of warm walnut wood.

The subterranean residence, situated on the western side of Kea, occupies the site of a compound of old stone warehouses once used for loading goods onto boats in the sheltered bay. Following its last conversion into a restaurant, the complex has been entirely redesigned to meet the needs of tranquil summer living, protected within the earth. Access to the property is from the higher part of the plot, through a light ramp that leads into the ground, establishing the main circulation axis. A glass pivoting door opens into an interior garden with atmospheric lighting from the ceiling, replacing the old dark kitchens. At this point, movement branches off, leading on one side to an integrated living area with a kitchen, dining room, and living room that directly connects to the courtyard through large sliding openings. On the other side, it leads to two ensuite bedrooms behind a curved stone wall with narrow, linear windows and cupolas that illuminate the service spaces. The layout is completed with a guest house adjacent to the bedrooms, featuring a separate entrance and an impressive low horizontal opening that reveals the horizon view from the bed’s height.

06. Residence in Paros | Tessera Architects

Annual Issue: Maison de Campagne 2024

The residence, located on the road from Parikia to the airport, blends into the natural hillside landscape with views of the islets and rocky outcrops between Paros and Antiparos. The design austerity imposed by its underground construction, the orientation, and the panoramic views to the West and the Aegean Sea defined the main axes of the architectural solution. Thus, an internal and external environment was organized to gradually reveal its secrets, bringing the residents into constant dialogue with the built space and nature. An underground residence, by definition, has only one facade. Consequently, the desire for five en suite bedrooms -a master bedroom, a master guest room, and three standard ones- as well as for an open-plan living area with a sitting room, dining area, and kitchen, dictated a linear layout so that all primary spaces could take advantage of the imposing view offered by the location.

ek Issue: 279 | July-August 2023

The project is situated in a mountainous landscape covered with wild bushes and olive trees in Lefkada, offering one of the most beautiful panoramic views of the island. With the basic intention of designing the residence as a “spiritual refugee”, the composition is made of underground and semi-subterranean volumes that are interlocked on the plot, thus reducing the visibility of the building from the sea. The project unfolds in two linear levels, following the curvature of the terrain. Upon entering the house, a sense of exploration is initiated, where the gaze is directed towards the landscape and the sparkling reflections of the sea. Curved lines gradually lead the visitor to discovering the array of spaces. A key design objective is seamlessly extending the interiors to a plethora of exterior day-use zones such as semi-outdoor terraces, the pool plaza and the courtyard.

The subterranean house, benefitting from the gentle slope of the ground, is hidden inside a landscape of low vegetation in Volimes, Zante island, facing the sea. The main design principle was to integrate the building into the singular ground morphology without causing any disruption; maximizing sea views from all spaces of the house became a driving requirement. The rooms are arranged in a succession oriented towards the sea view; wide openings facilitate visual contact with the sea, the swimming pool, and the surrounding landscape. The ground section on the back side of the building reinforces its bioclimatic performance and allows natural lighting and cross-ventilation. The swimming pool, whose water extends to the living room as a shallow surface, contains a small sitting area inside, in visual continuity with the sea.

Set against the azure panorama of the Aegean Sea, harmoniously coexisting with Santorini’s natural landscape, the residence narrates the wild beauty of its surroundings and its relationship with traditional architecture. The subterranean construction, nestled within the geological layer of Minoan ash, is characterized by the effortless beauty of Santorini’s traditional dwellings, offering all the comforts required for modern living while minimizing its environmental footprint. Access is through a spacious terrace with a linear infinity pool, sunken lounges, and a jacuzzi. With respect for the rugged charm of the barren rocky landscape and the cerulean sea, the façade emerges as the sole visible volume, clad in local black volcanic rock. Alongside stretches an imposing pergola of natural iroko and osier, shielding from the intense western sun, creating a sanctuary for relaxation with a view of the Aegean.

The two rental holiday residences, each featuring a shared living area, three en-suite bedrooms, and spacious outdoor settings with private pools, are situated on an elongated, sloping plot outside the urban plan in Kissamos, Chania. With a western orientation, the residences enjoy panoramic views of the renowned and rapidly developing Falasarna beach. The site’s steep incline and dramatic natural surroundings inspired the core design concept: to embed the residences into the terrain, aligned parallel to the coastline, ensuring unobstructed sea views. The volumes of the two homes are topped with planted roofs and separated by a strip of untouched land with dense vegetation. This design approach enhances the privacy of outdoor areas while minimizing the overall impact on the landscape. From the coastline, the complex appears as a discreet, horizontal line of concrete and glass on the western façade, blending subtly with the environment.