Residence in Paros

Secret Landscape

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.

Design Philosophy

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.

Functional Layout

The two houses on the upper side are joined by a common patio and an open kitchen, an ode to the conviviality and freedom of holidays. The main house below is stretched between two patios on the east and west sides, offering peace and shade at any time of the day. One is introverted and secretive, the other spreads out widely, facing the setting sun. The seaside facades are punctuated by the narrow vertical windows, typical of Paros.

At the back, large windows link the interior spaces to the terraces and patios. The exterior stone retaining walls are extended inside the buildings, affirming their anchorage to the land, and contributing to the fluidity of the circulations. The subterranean character and the shaded patios are particularly well suited to the island’s warm and windy climate. At night, the windows slide into the walls, and everyone sleeps under the stars.

Material Palette

At the far end of the slope, the swimming pool points towards a small bay that stands out below. Next to it, a beautiful, shaded terrace. The sea remains the undisputed star. The lower façades are treated in the same way as the retaining walls that define the strata of the cultivated areas. Only local stone is used, so that the resulting color and vibration of the material would blend into the surrounding nature. Architecture does not steal the limelight from the landscape.

The remaining material palette is sober and elegant. The muted resonance of the ancestral stones is reinterpreted, remaining intact, while wood, smooth concrete, and white marble offer a counterpoint to their roughness. Ultimately, the house and its architecture are about freeing oneself from all forms of decoration, including the facing of facades and walls. Open joints result in a grooved effect and create flat, horizontal parts where vegetation debris and marine sediments can be deposited, further integrating the building into the wild, island landscape.