PETRA ( stone in Greek)
The residence is purely made of stones extracted from the excavation.
The design drew inspiration from the dry-stone walls and geological formations of the area, seamlessly blending into the landscape like a stone structure that harmonizes with its surroundings. The site is marked by clusters of rocks and preeminent geological formations; its name, "Kakapetra," etymologically translates to "rugged stone".The rocky terrain hindered agricultural cultivation, leading these regions to be primarily utilized for animal herding, allowing livestock to be contained and roam away from cultivable lands.
In such a context, the residence takes shape and evolves, utilizing the excavation's stone. Traverse walls that face towards the view create passages, entry stairs, longitudinal vistas, and living spaces. These walls mold the building adjacent to the landscape, the place, and the stone. While traditional retaining walls, the "pezoules," evolve in parallel with the topography and elevation relief, the residence's walls penetrate the ground, emerge from it, and subsequently shape living spaces.
The entrance is located on the eastern side of the plot, at its highest point. As the walls traverse and intersect the dwelling, enclosed courtyards are formed on the western side to protect the bedrooms and establish areas of privacy.
The roof slab, made of visible concrete, rests upon the stone walls, and shelters the living space. The rock, the landscape, permeates the interior and then turns toward the view and the sea. The pergola, as an extension of the reinforced concrete covering, merges the interior and the exterior, unifying the rock, the living room, the courtyard, the view, and the sea into a single sequence. Roofs are complemented with soil for planting, allowing the local flora to continue its journey downhill through and over the building.
A spatial interplay, a succession of events, shapes a contemporary living experience. The residence serves as a continuation of the natural terrain, declaring its presence through the simplest form of stone walls that demarcate human intervention. This relationship, between humans and the stone, as well as nature, constitutes the rationale behind this architectural endeavor.
Movement penetrates the residence, often following the course of the wind, interacts with the light, and reconstructs the fragments, giving the trigger for a search for ways that human existence can adopt the Landscape.
The sanctity of this place, which encompasses millennia of civilization, guides the architectural intervention, imposing a humble yet simultaneously sincere approach to the Landscape, through a personal interpretation.