Stone+View House

 

Site location: Arachova, Greece

Gross floor area: 247,95 sqm

Photography: George Messaritakis

 

The house, built in 1989, was remodeled to become a weekend destination for a family of four, their relatives, and friends while serving as a ‘base’ for winter sports.

It locates at the south-west end of the small mountainous town of Arachova, a popular winter destination, in close distance to the archeological site of Delphi in Central Greece.

The house’s exterior was stripped-off of picturesque elements such as wooden canopies, railings, shutters, and arbitrary structures, while all existing window frames were removed for being recycled. An extensive cleanup was also carried out in all the interior spaces of the house by additionally replacing plumbing, electrical, and heating installations.

The existing elevated ground floor, with general dimensions of 10,50X7,50 m, extends by 3,00 m on one side and forms a square plan layout. This level houses the new, open-plan, living-dining, and kitchen areas as well as a guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom. The upper floor, where the family’s bedrooms are housed, offers beautiful vistas toward Amfissa valley and mount Parnassus.

The dwelling’s envelope is clad with stones from the nearby quarry, worked by local craftsmen using traditional techniques. The elevations are complemented by metallic elements and details giving a more contemporary direction to the overall composition.

The resulting building is rooted in local vernacular reinterpreted under a contemporary architectural language while being defined through a game of contrast between modern and rustic forms, rough and smooth surfaces, in a two-way relationship with the surrounding mountainous landscape.