Poseidonia House

Poseidonia, Greece

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Poseidonia House

Poseidonia, Greece

Firm

DZA
Alexandra Stratou

Type

Residential › Private House

YEAR

2008

This listed mansion
dating from the beginning of the 20th century is a characteristic
example of the eclectic villa architecture of the old resort of Poseidonia in
Syros island. Apart from the rebuilding and interior conversion of the mansion
the owner required the integration of 3 separate guesthouses in the difficult
topography of the plot. The rigid hierarchy of the interior was reconceived,
more fluid and extroverted. The structural organization of the building was
nominally retained and a new level was inserted in the rear part of the
existing tall volume which allowed the unification of the main spaces of the
ground floor. This informed the planning of the exterior spaces: A new
courtyard in the protected southern part extends out of the new daily spaces
and the old colonnade to the grounds. Its retaining wall acts as the external
wall of the guesthouses, an inhabited wall which gives privacy to the grounds
from the adjacent modern developments and creates a second more intimate scale.
Every guesthouse has its own small courtyard in a separate level. The central
court acts as a square where the daily life of the various occupants converges