This late 19th century mansion was severely damaged during the last catastrophic earthquake of 1956, in Santorini Island. Despite an on-going process of repairs throughout the years, it maintained its character: the 50cm thick load bearing walls built by black lava stone, the monolithic façade with marble ornaments and the high vaulted ceilings.
The layout of the building reflected its era, while the household extended to a complex of court-yards, excavated chambers and cisterns, interwoven together with the surrounding properties, forming an organic entity characteristic of the Cyclades.
In the layout design of such a special building, its character was respectfully underlined with distinct though gentle interventions. From a series of diagrams, the chosen plan was to clearly divide the property into three independent quarters. The interior was thus redesigned, according to contemporary necessities.
Following the restoration of walls, ceilings, infrastructure, wooden openings and even furniture, another task was to combine the ‘aristocratic’ aura of the building, with a contemporary aesthetic. The idea was to underline the character of each quarter, using a different colour palette for each one in all introduced elements. Given the colours of local materials, the red volcanic rock, the white pumice and the black volcanic rock, the ‘red, white, & blue room’ were designed respectively, to the last detail.