The Cycladic architecture, the respect to the landscape and life of the Greek islands during summer, were the starting points for the design of three independent summerhouses in Naxos Island. Taking as granted their placement at the same plot, privacy, in combination with extroversion of the residences and the better use of natural landscape, are the basic elements of this project.
Design starts from a very simple line that accommodates the three residences. This line breaks and rotates 20ο, in order to accomplish a better view to the sea and maximum privacy between them. The residences are formed by stonewalls that, when put transversely, separate the properties, giving them privacy and creating passages and inner spaces.
The residences are designed in a way to promote an outdoor lifestyle. The big openings at the ground floor allow the internal and external spaces to merge into each other, blurring the boundaries between them. At two-story houses, the yard becomes the main space, as there is a separate entrance to it.
The focal point of the exterior space is the element of water, a straight line that represents either a film of water, or a swimming pool and creates different experiences. It is located at the center of the synthesis, so that all the outdoor functions are organized around it and users can be in an immediate and constant contact with it.
All the necessary uses are located at the front yard of each residence, such as sitting area, dining area, barbeque and kitchenette, making the outdoor space more vibrant and accommodating the users’ everyday life. Shading is also very important in order to enjoy life outside. Wooden pergolas offer shading and in combination with stonewalls they create spaces, without dominating the landscape with oversized volumes.
Natural materials are used, mostly stone and wood. Their coexistence with the simple white volumes provide the sense of the Cycladic landscape that, throughout the synthesis and the straight lines, is interpreted and reproduced in a modern and contemporary way.
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