Summer House

Summer house for a 4-member family in a seaside resort on the Greek island of Evia. The upper level of the house consists of two parallel rectangular volumes separated by an elongated outdoor dwelling space. The first volume is projected towards the sea and includes all the daytime activities, whereas the second falls back towards the hill and houses the family's private quarters. The in-between open space gathers the family's life and discloses some of the qualities of the atrium and street, as it directs and at the same time binds the views and movements. The horizontal and vertical planes bordering this outdoor space have been designed in a way as to indicate a series of shifts in living relations and building-to-ground and nature relations.

Due to the variability and changeability of its borders (wall surfaces, garden and transversal glass corridor), this inbetween space can be extended or limited, unified or separated, thus providing different living experiences. Moreover, the floor plane is interposed as a rough wooden construction, coming in between the two volumes, thereby reinforcing the already existent splitting effect. Rising slightly above the ground but without touching it, this same outdoor living deck creates a latent space underneath that provides free passage to the flow of water and soil. Positioned on the perpendicular axis of the hill topography, this is a street that is experienced as a continuous reminder of a physical stream extending down towards the sea.

One level lower, underneath the volume housing the family's daytime activities, there is a workshop with an adjacent guest house retreating underneath the open space between the two volumes of the house. Materials: The surface of both volumes of the house is made of plaster, with aluminum window and door openings, whereas the corridor connecting both volumes consists of a metal construction with glass panels. The wooden deck between the two volumes is made of African wood laid on metal beams. Local stones bound in wire boxes, wood and plants are used for the fencing of the garden surrounding the house.