Sectional ground

Set on a tranquil hillside within an olive grove in southern Peloponnese, this residence is defined by its distinctive Y-shaped green roof. Acting as an extension of the surrounding garden, the roof frames expansive views from the interior and integrates the building seamlessly into the landscape.

 

Spatial Organization

Circulation is designed to flow through, around, and over the house, creating a continuous promenade that links interior and exterior functions. This layout invites full engagement with the perimeter of the residence, while its low profile -never exceeding the height of the olive trees- ensures a harmonious relationship with the terrain and the natural setting.

The branching paths of the green roof define three distinct ground-level courtyards, each shaped as a hemisphere and programmed for specific activities based on the sun’s movement. The roof’s orientation is deliberately designed to cast shade at certain times of the day, enhancing comfort throughout. The western courtyard, where the main entrance is located, remains shaded until midday -ideal for breakfast- while transforming into an open-air cinema in the evening.

 

 

Architectural Features

A large perforated wall on the western façade protects the interior from the intense afternoon sun, while allowing natural cross-ventilation and passive cooling at night. The eastern courtyard, shaded from midday onward, serves as a lunch and relaxation area during the afternoon. The southern courtyard is active throughout the day, accommodating a swimming pool and functioning as an outdoor dining space in the evening.

The 12-meter pool, integrated into the southern courtyard, features a gentle slope that creates a beach-like experience. Along its southern edge, a Mediterranean-style terrace channels the overflow water. Adjacent to this area, a sunbathing deck offers uninterrupted views of the sea and the nearby island of Schiza. The interior is divided into two zones: a private wing with three bedrooms and two bathrooms oriented eastward, and a communal wing to the south, which includes an open-plan living room, dining area, and kitchen. All shared spaces have direct access to the three courtyards.

The curved wooden ceiling in the living area incorporates custom lighting and functions as a sound-absorbing element. A custom-designed bookshelf serves as a visual and spatial divider between private and communal areas. Its perforations evoke curiosity while offering a sense of intimacy for those using the bedrooms. Fixed windows, custom-fabricated from thermoformed Corian strips, feature perforations that support both natural ventilation and soft ambient lighting during the evening.

 

 

Construction Philosophy

Due to the complexity of the double-curved concrete formwork -and the lack of local contractors willing to take on the challenge- a CNC machine was purchased specifically for the project. This investment enabled the fabrication of numerous bespoke elements, including the ceiling light fixtures, fixed windows, partition bookshelf, and a range of custom furniture in wood and marble.

Every component was designed for easy on-site assembly by unskilled laborers, using construction drawings that doubled as step-by-step instructions. This streamlined approach, combined with thorough pre-construction planning and minimal reliance on traditional documentation, reduced the construction timeline by approximately seven months -without exceeding the budget or compromising the project’s quality.

 

Meandering movement

The subterranean residence, built on a 4,700m2 plot in the rural landscape of Tinos, is located near the traditional village of Kardiani. With a total surface area of 300m2, the house is arranged entirely on one level, ensuring full accessibility throughout both its interior and exterior spaces.

 

Context Integration

The layout and architectural approach draw inspiration from the traditional settlements of Tinos, particularly their three dimensional and intricate spatial fabric. Wandering through these villages is an experience of exploration and surprise, unfolding through narrow, maze-like alleys and offering sudden glimpses of the sea and sky. This unique spatial experience served as a conceptual framework for the organization of the residence, where interior and exterior areas are arranged along a non-linear path that gradually reveals views and spaces, echoing the rhythm of discovery.

 

 

Design Philosophy

The building volume is precisely integrated into the land’s natural contours, with a primary façade oriented toward the sea. Stone walls, built using material excavated on-site, frame the exterior spaces along the front and the rear courtyard, while trees planted in the inner courtyards create a natural link between inside and outside. The roof is covered with local soil and features three large openings, allowing natural light and ventilation into the courtyards.

In the main living areas, the roof is sloped to enhance ceiling height and subtly conceal the underground nature of the structure. The floor plan is based on a strict rectangular grid, serving as a framework for dialogue with the surrounding landscape’s irregular morphology. The terrain cut is symbolically expressed through a “floating beam”, a stepped parapet that appears to emerge naturally from the ground.

 

 

Sustainable Design

The residence is built with high-performance thermal insulation that exceeds standard requirements and operates with a central energy system using a heat pump and solar collectors. The orientation of the main façade and courtyards, along with strategically placed wooden pergolas, contributes significantly to the passive shading and thermal regulation of the space. Overall, the house represents a refined example of contemporary holiday architecture; one that integrates seamlessly into its natural setting and is constructed with sensitivity toward the environment.

 

Past legacies

Forefathers is a contemporary food-and-beverage venture that celebrates ancestral ways of life through modern design. Conceived by a group of young entrepreneurs, the brand reinterprets traditional regional cuisine and architecture, pairing vernacular materials with current construction techniques to achieve a refined, sophisticated ambience.

 

Context Integration

Located on Road No. 45 in Jubilee Hills -Hyderabad’s premier destination for high-end restaurants and clubs -the project occupies a concrete–steel composite shell comprising a ground floor, two upper storeys, and a mezzanine inserted within a triple-height volume. Commercial buildings flank the plot on either side, while a community park with dense vegetation borders the rear.

Visitors enter between tall, angled walls that frame a 25-foot-high pitched-roof canopy. This volume tapers to a 12-foot flat-roofed reception zone before opening into a dramatic 40-foot-tall interior hall. The progression concludes beneath a 28-foot pitched roof in a semi-open backyard. The orchestrated sequence creates a seamless flow and clarifies the building’s composition.

 

 

Roof & Landscape Design

The structure comprises three generous gabled canopies clad in terracotta tiles. The front and rear canopies remain semi-open, their roofs supported by branching steel columns that evoke trees. Square glass inserts punctuate the terracotta, animating arrival zones with shifting patterns of light and shadow. The central canopy -soaring to 40 feet- melds steel and concrete to hold a multi-level dining hall, performance area, and glimpses into the first-floor kitchen. A mezzanine with a bar project through glass walls toward the backyard, visually stitching indoor and outdoor realms.

The project’s landscape strategy elevates freestanding seating pods at varied heights in the rear yard, fostering privacy without walls. Water features and planted pockets weave between these platforms, while a live kitchen and composite glass-and-tile roofs generate dappled daylight that evolves throughout the day.

 

 

Material Palette & Lighting

Handmade bricks, terracotta tiles, and fly-ash blocks anchor the project in local craft and low-embodied-energy materials, whereas contemporary concrete and steel framing provide precision and stability. A restrained palette -primarily terracotta- yields a timeless minimalism; nuanced brick patterns supply texture and complexity within that uniformity.

At the heart of the lighting scheme, Baaya Design Studio suspends sculptural fabric cubes that showcase Telangana’s traditional crafts -Kalamkari, Pochampally ikat, and leather puppetry. The installation bridges heritage and modernity, echoing Forefathers’ mission to resonate with today’s audiences while honoring the past.

Through this integrated approach, the bar-restaurant manifests a dialogue between old and new, crafting an atmosphere where culinary and architectural narratives alike celebrate the legacy of forebears in a contemporary context.

 

Sculptural roof

The project aim was to retain the existing footprint, while remodeling the envelope and the interior to create a flowing, open-plan arrangement and connecting the gardens and terraces to panoramic ocean views.

Functional Layout

The house consists of two main wings: the living and entertainment areas and the sleeping quarters. The top level has the most impressive sea views and includes an open-plan lounge and dining area flowing out onto a terrace through floor-to-ceiling glass doors. The lower level accommodates three guest bedrooms, staff quarters, a gym, a study, a games room, and another lounge that opens seamlessly onto the pool terrace. The main bedroom occupies the upper level of the second wing.

 

 

Roof & Staircase Design

A new cast in-situ concrete roof is added over the main living space, supported by a steel frame above a series of high-level windows. From the street, only a glimpse of the sculptural roof is visible beyond the entrance, whose design takes inspiration from the waves of the ocean and the mountains behind the house. Within the interior, the ceiling “pushes up” above clerestory windows to frame views of the surrounding context. These focal points enhance the residence’s connection to its beautiful natural setting as well as draw natural light into the interior. Similarly, the roof of the master bedroom in the adjacent wing has been peeled back and lifted upwards to capture the views. The upstairs living space has been transformed into a light, transparent, pavilion-like structure flooded with natural light and fresh air, that leads to a garden. Finally, perforated sliding metal screens on the façade shelter the interior spaces from direct sunlight, while a winding staircase connects the living, and bedroom wings and creates a sculptural architectural element at the entrance.

 

 

Material Palette

A restrained and consistent palette of natural materials has been applied throughout the residence, creating a tactile but neutral backdrop to enhance the colorful views of the landscape. Light oak paneling on ceilings, walls, and floors provides softness and warmth, while exposed concrete elements offer a gritty contrast, and finally, the local Cape granite resonates with the mountainside setting.

Visual dialogue

The 7,000 m² residence is situated on a unique forest plot bordered by a river on both sides. This natural environment creates a sense of complete privacy, akin to being on an island.

 

Design Philosophy

This project explores new ways to integrate organic forms into contemporary private architecture. The concept of smooth, wavy roofs serves as a metaphor for the movement of water, resembling a natural cascade. This dynamic roofing design defines the boundary between private and public spaces, ensuring privacy while protecting the bedrooms and bathrooms from external views, all while maintaining a visual dialogue with the surrounding landscape. Fully panoramic glazing emphasizes the transparency and openness of the residence’s interior, creating a powerful fusion between interior and exterior.

 

Roof Design

A notable feature of the project is the sculptural roof made of natural slate. Its geometry and materials are inspired by the natural context, reflecting the soft lines of the riverbanks and the smooth contours of the landscape. The spatial structure of the residence is built on principles of openness and integration. The building is conceived as a single volume rather than being divided into separate blocks, enhancing the overall architectural integrity.

 

Context Integration

The central courtyard, which preserves existing pine trees, serves as a key compositional element. The design aimed to protect these trees while also integrating the natural landscape as much as possible into the living space. The panoramic glazing allows the natural surroundings to be perceived as an extension of the interior, making it an integral part of everyday life.

Uninterrupted facade

The project is one of the first points of contact for visitors to the Rogla sports and tourist resort. Built as the final addition to a group of hotels, it represents perhaps the biggest visual departure from the recognizable expression of the previous interventions, which referenced the local, rurally developed landscape to a larger degree.

 

Design Challenge

Hotel Natura was designed as Rogla’s highest-rated hotel but was never fully realized. Much of the envisioned accommodations remained unbuilt, however the investor now intends to modify its typology and to extend the hotel with the addition of multi-purpose common areas and a recreational swimming pool. As a result, the project’s most challenging aspect was to tackle the expansion through a different design approach, where the new section will stand more “elegantly” next to the distinctive, heavy-weight existing complex.

 

Architectural Approach

Rogla’s romantic landscape imagery greatly informed the extension’s main design: to create a façade that is seamlessly converted into a roof. More specifically, the facade is visually transformed into a timber gable roof, which acts as a historic reference to the context. The timber is freely stacked and uncoated, thus gradually aging and coalescing in sync with the surrounding landscape. The new addition therefore does not reference the existing building as much as it does the surrounding forest and traditional rural development.

 

Functional Organization

The interior organization offers a clear division between the public and the private accommodation sections. The entire public program features taller storeys that open toward the forest to the north, while all the guestrooms are designed with slightly lower ceiling heights and are oriented toward the ski stadium to the south. The difference in floor heights is bridged by a new staircase operating as a “vertical hall”, as well as a new double-sided lift. This strategic layout offers uninterrupted views and allows natural lighting to enter the interior, including in the corridors as well as all the public spaces.

Below the roof

The project is a 450m2 single-family home on a working ranch outside of Fredericksburg. It is a testament to rigorous modern design found in central Texas, vernacular in its form as well as finishes.

 

Design Approach

The clients wished to escape city life and move to the countryside, where they would sustainably raise bison and turkeys, while residing in a local ranch. The residence, apart from all the typical functions, had to provide spaces for the business operation, including podcasts and educational events. The design aesthetic retains the original ranch feel, while, accommodating modern accents and amenities. Additionally, the two existing buildings situated on the property are preserved, featuring a kitchen and dining area as well as a detached bedroom.

 

Spatial Layout

The spatial organization preserves an uninterrupted flow, where the communal spaces, the offices, the bedrooms along with the carport and gym reside under a single roof. This linear plan emerged from pragmatic constraints in the construction phase, during which the architects considered the need to occupy the space at all times and thus resulting to a fully resolved and clean structure.

 

Materials & Construction Details

The roof is made of corrugated polycarbonate material, creating a stunning architectural form, while allowing ample natural light in the rooms. At the same time, a discrete steel structure provides additional support at the compound cantilevers. The material selection is primarily based on natural tones and textures: dark wood is used throughout the space, while concrete, tiles and local stone clad an array of accent walls.

Hyperbolic structures

The building is part of a large campus -managed by the Eugene Eisenman Avifauna Foundation- immersed in the Panamanian tropical rainforest. It offers a series of ecotourism facilities such as an observation tower and a visitor’s center that showcases the area’s natural heritage. The shelter functions primarily as a tour guide training center.

 

Design Morphology

The project consists of two primary elements: an elevated, open-plan wooden platform, which acts as a place of gathering, teaching, and food preparation, as well as a large gable roof that is the design’s main morphological feature. The roof is supported by two main columns and a central beam, forming two hyperbolic polaroids, thus achieving a free and flexible effect. Being a highly durable material, rigid thermopanel sheets are used as roof cladding.

 

Landscape Integration

The shelter maintains both a visual as well as an emotional relationship with the forest. Its architectural design is minimal yet accounts for all the essential functions needed to inhabit the space. During the day, it provides shading through its intricate roof design, while at night, a series of indirect lights illuminate the wooden platform.

 

Social & Cultural Impact

The project’s construction greatly impacted the social and cultural heritage of the area. Using the local workforce and expertise to materialize the design has resulted in making this site an educational destination. It has become a learning center for ecotourism and environmental sustainability within the scenery of Panama’s tropical rainforest.