ARCHITECT: K-STUDIO
STYLE: CONTEMPORARY MEDITERRANEAN
LOCATION: COSTA NAVARINO, PELOPONNESE, GREECE
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANA SANTL
SOME HOUSES ARE DESIGNED FOR QUIET RETREATS. OTHERS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN BUILT WITH A RATHER MORE SOCIABLE IDEA OF SUMMER IN MIND. SET AMONG OLIVE GROVES AND CYPRESS TREES IN COSTA NAVARINO, SOUTHWAND HOUSE BELONGS FIRMLY TO THE LATTER CATEGORY. WITH ITS SCULPTURAL STONE WALLS, SUNLIT COURTYARDS AND SWEEPING VIEWS OF THE IONIAN SEA, THIS CONTEMPORARY GREEK VILLA IS LESS CONCERNED WITH KEEPING THE OUTSIDE WORLD AT BAY THAN WITH INVITING THE BEST PARTS OF IT IN.
DESIGNED BY ATHENS-BASED K-STUDIO AS A HOLIDAY HOME FOR A NORTHERN EUROPEAN FAMILY, SOUTHWAND HOUSE TAKES ITS NAME FROM A RATHER CHARMING HABIT: SEEKING OUT A SOUTH-FACING WALL TO ENJOY THE WARMTH OF A RARE SUNNY DAY. IN THE PELOPONNESE, OF COURSE, SUNSHINE IS CONSIDERABLY LESS ELUSIVE. NEVERTHELESS, THE IDEA OF FINDING A SHELTERED SPOT, TURNING TOWARDS THE LIGHT AND STAYING THERE A LITTLE LONGER BECAME A FITTING STARTING POINT FOR THE ARCHITECTURE.
THE HOUSE SITS WITHIN NAVARINO DUNES, SURROUNDED BY THE DISTINCTIVE LANDSCAPE OF MESSINIA. RATHER THAN INTRODUCING A SINGLE IMPOSING STRUCTURE, THE ARCHITECTS LOOKED TO THE REGION’S TRADITIONAL STONE TOWER HOUSES AND THE ORGANIC ARRANGEMENT OF RURAL GREEK SETTLEMENTS. IN THESE OLD VILLAGES, BUILDINGS GROW IN RESPONSE TO DAILY LIFE, CREATING COURTYARDS, PASSAGES AND SMALL PUBLIC SPACES ALONG THE WAY. SOUTHWAND HOUSE REINTERPRETS THAT PRINCIPLE THROUGH A SERIES OF GEOMETRIC VOLUMES THAT APPEAR TO HAVE FOUND THEIR PLACES QUITE NATURALLY.
THE RESULT IS AN ARCHITECTURAL COMPOSITION THAT FEELS BOTH CAREFULLY CONSIDERED AND PLEASANTLY UNPREDICTABLE. STONE-CLAD WALLS RISE AT DIFFERENT HEIGHTS, FORMING A COLLECTION OF INTERCONNECTED SPACES RATHER THAN A CONVENTIONAL VILLA. SOME VOLUMES STAND ALONE, WHILE OTHERS ARE STACKED TO CREATE A MORE COMPLEX SILHOUETTE. BETWEEN THEM, SMALL COURTYARDS AND SHELTERED PASSAGES GIVE THE HOUSE THE CHARACTER OF A TINY MEDITERRANEAN VILLAGE — ALBEIT ONE WITH A PARTICULARLY ENVIABLE SWIMMING POOL.
MATERIALS PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN CONNECTING THE HOUSE TO ITS SURROUNDINGS. STONE SOURCED FROM NEARBY QUARRIES GIVES THE WALLS THEIR WARM, VARIED COLOURING, WHILE WHITE CONCRETE SLABS INTRODUCE A CRISP CONTEMPORARY CONTRAST. GENEROUS GLAZING AND SLENDER ALUMINIUM FRAMES KEEP THE INTERIORS OPEN TO THE LANDSCAPE. THE COMBINATION IS ROBUST WITHOUT FEELING HEAVY, AND MODERN WITHOUT LOSING ITS SENSE OF PLACE.
WHAT MAKES SOUTHWAND HOUSE PARTICULARLY INTERESTING, HOWEVER, IS THE WAY ITS SPACES REFUSE TO BE CONFINED BY THEIR WALLS. THE ARCHITECTS APPROACHED THE PROJECT WITH THE IDEA THAT SUMMER LIVING SHOULD HAPPEN AS EASILY OUTDOORS AS IT DOES INSIDE. LOUNGING, COOKING, SHOWERING AND EVEN EXERCISING HAVE THEIR OWN OPEN-AIR COUNTERPARTS. TERRACES, COURTYARDS AND SEMI-ENCLOSED SPACES BECOME NATURAL EXTENSIONS OF THE ROOMS, CREATING A HOUSE THAT CHANGES WITH THE LIGHT, THE WEATHER AND THE RHYTHM OF THE DAY.
AT THE CENTRE OF THE PLAN IS A LONGITUDINAL AXIS THAT ORGANISES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL AND PRIVATE AREAS. FROM THE ENTRANCE, THE HOUSE REVEALS ITSELF GRADUALLY THROUGH A SEQUENCE OF SPACES, EACH OFFERING A DIFFERENT CONNECTION TO THE LANDSCAPE. THE SWIMMING POOL RUNS ALONG THIS CENTRAL COMPOSITION, LINKING THE GROUND-FLOOR ROOMS AND DRAWING THE EYE TOWARDS THE HORIZON. IT IS BOTH A PLACE TO SWIM AND AN ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENT THAT BRINGS THE ENTIRE HOUSE TOGETHER.
THE SOCIAL SPACES ARE ARRANGED TO ENCOURAGE THE EASY, UNSTRUCTURED PLEASURES OF HOLIDAY LIFE. OPEN LIVING AREAS CONNECT TO SHADED OUTDOOR LOUNGES, WHILE THE COURTYARDS OFFER MORE INTIMATE PLACES TO ESCAPE THE MIDDAY SUN. PRIVATE ROOMS ARE SET APART FROM THE BUSIER AREAS, ALLOWING FAMILY MEMBERS AND GUESTS TO MOVE BETWEEN COMPANY AND SOLITUDE WITHOUT MUCH CEREMONY. IT IS A THOUGHTFUL APPROACH TO A HOUSE DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE WHO ENJOY SPENDING TIME TOGETHER — BUT NOT NECESSARILY EVERY MINUTE OF IT.
THE ARCHITECTURE ALSO HAS A CERTAIN SENSE OF MOVEMENT.
VERTICAL STONE ELEMENTS INTERRUPT THE HORIZONTAL LINES OF THE CONCRETE SLABS, WHILE GLASS SURFACES REFLECT THE CHANGING LIGHT. THE BUILDING APPEARS DIFFERENT FROM EACH ANGLE, ITS INTERLOCKING VOLUMES CREATING A SERIES OF UNEXPECTED VIEWS AND SPATIAL CONNECTIONS. THERE IS NO SINGLE GRAND GESTURE. INSTEAD, THE EXPERIENCE UNFOLDS THROUGH SMALLER MOMENTS: A GLIMPSE OF THE SEA BETWEEN TWO WALLS, A COOL PASSAGE LEADING INTO SUNLIGHT, OR A QUIET COURTYARD THAT FEELS ENTIRELY YOUR OWN.
DESPITE ITS CONTEMPORARY LANGUAGE, SOUTHWAND HOUSE REMAINS CLOSELY CONNECTED TO THE ARCHITECTURAL TRADITIONS OF THE PELOPONNESE. ITS STONE WALLS, CLUSTERED VOLUMES AND SHELTERED OUTDOOR SPACES ARE NOT DECORATIVE REFERENCES TO THE PAST, BUT A MODERN INTERPRETATION OF IDEAS THAT HAVE SHAPED LOCAL BUILDINGS FOR CENTURIES. K-STUDIO HAS TAKEN SOMETHING FAMILIAR AND GIVEN IT A NEW PURPOSE, WITHOUT LOSING THE QUIET INTELLIGENCE OF THE ORIGINAL.
AND PERHAPS THAT IS THE REAL APPEAL OF SOUTHWAND HOUSE. FOR ALL ITS STRIKING GEOMETRY AND BEAUTIFULLY FRAMED VIEWS, THE ARCHITECTURE IS ULTIMATELY ABOUT THE SIMPLE PLEASURES OF BEING SOMEWHERE WARM, SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE YOU LIKE, WITH VERY LITTLE REASON TO CHECK THE TIME.
SOME HOUSES ARE DESIGNED TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION. SOUTHWAND HOUSE SEEMS RATHER MORE INTERESTED IN MAKING SUMMER LAST A LITTLE LONGER.
