Meaning “summer” in ancient Greek, THEROS is envisioned as an architectural dialogue between tradition and modernity - a contemporary reimagining of the Greek village. The composition fuses cubic volumes, local stone masonry with large mortar joints, reed shades and timber, providing continuity with the island’s architectural heritage and rooting the project in its geographical and cultural context.
The site unfolds over two vertical plots, developed as autonomous yet unified hotels, sharing a common architectural language and cohesive design identity.
The spatial organization is defined by two primary axes responding to the site’s geometry.
Both communal buildings, conceived as a monolithic stone blocks, reference the medieval castle of Kos: closed and protective to one side, accessed over reflective pools, they open inward through retractable glass panels, creating kinetic façades mediating between enclosure and openness.
The extroverted axis arranges suites on both sides of a social heart with a central pool and public amenities. The introverted axis arranges suites into intimate neighborhoods. Reed beds and stone walls bound peripheral circulation paths. Transitional sequences of textures and vegetation lead from semi-enclosed patios to private courtyards. Narrow openings control ventilation, while massive stone walls provide shading and thermal inertia.
Modern architectural gestures include exposed concrete slabs, large openings, and minimal detailing. The permeability between interior and exterior spaces, achieved by dissolving boundaries with terraces and large windows, reflects contemporary design principles focused on openness and fluidity.
The Wellness Building emerges over reflective pools, linking the two axes through a fluid, experiential threshold with a dual identity — passage and destination. Referencing Byzantine bath typologies with domed geometries, it evokes ritual and calm.
Native Mediterranean species — olive, palm, cypress, and medicinal herbs — with minimal water demand and reference to Hippocratic traditions, solar panels, photovoltaic and KNX systems articulate a sustainable, contextually grounded architecture.