House in Petries, Evvoia-Greece

The building in general has an L shaped plan and is comprised of three synthetic gestures:

a. The trench
The ground floor is situated in a trench on the inclined slope defined by a stone wall. This wall from a retaining element of the exterior evolves into a configurative in the interior to create a "deep" space, a shelter for everyday life, providing a "back" and orientating the house towards its courtyard and the view.

b. The L shaped plan
The L shaped plan of the level above -locally a ground floor as well due to the inclination of the terrain- creates a double-height void over the living area, unifying the two levels as a collective whole, and -along with the ground floor- shifts the house towards the protected yard and the view of sea.

c. The tower-like volume
At the end of the west wing of the L shape plan, a vertical tower-like volume (housing the master bedroom and the guesthouse below) counterpoints to the horizontal lines of the rest of the building that evolves horizontally, "fixing" the whole structure to the ground.

The section of the building -both on the lower floor and its skyline- follows the slope of the hillside. In that manner, the building adjusts to the ground (with the less possible excavations). The skyline is allocated signifying the distinct functions of the interior below; every space is provided with access to the outdoor area, as the overall mass of the building breaks down to smaller, more simple and pure geometrical shapes, letting the building to integrate with the scale of its surrounding nature.

The bearing structure of fare-faced concrete is the primary expressive mean of the synthesis and the building's generic and morphological characteristic. Moreover, it has been the prominent mean of apprehending the rhythm and scale of its environment, so as the building eventually integrates with it. Special consideration was applied to its design: articulated elements (concrete slabs without bearing beams, freestanding circular pillars and bearing walls) of proportions and measurements in relation to their purpose. The distinction and the arrangement of these elements, as well as they interweave with the rest of the structural parts -the stone wall, the plastered walls and the glass windows- arrange the interior space and shape the building.

Architect: Giorgos Aggelis
Project year: 2006

Editing: Marilena Margari