Houses A·2 by Buerger Katsota Architects; Greece

On the Cycladic island of Paros, within an area under natural protection, the conversion of two degraded 8-room rental studio complexes into two quality holiday residences required careful renegotiations on several scales and architectural dials.

The scheme, with regards to massing and articulation, combines proportions and composition of cubic volumes, repetition and standardization of openings, generous outdoor shaded spaces and the use of environmentally friendly materials in order to redefine the complexes’ expression, achieve a plasticity of form but also an architectural unity that respects Cycladic architecture, adopts to the landscape and responds to the demands for contemporary holiday living.

Each building is rearticulated as an assemblage of cubic volumes upon an expressed ‘base’ -a platform- that negotiates the harmonious adaptation into the landscape. At three meters above the ‘base’, a timber pergola with cantilevering slender beams creates shaded, comfortable and wind-protected areas, for lounging and sun bathing, showering, dining and food preparation ensuring all-day, outdoor living.

The ‘private’ spaces are accommodated on the ground level facing south and taking advantage of the views towards the sea and the level access onto the ‘base’. A central, fully glazed common space is created as an extension of the outside but also as an indoor continuation of the pergola, allowing the landscape to form a dynamic, alternating, double-aspect presence.

The common living, dining and kitchen areas as well as an independent guestroom are accommodated on the upper level taking advantage of the panoramic views from both the interior and the generous terraces. In-between the common spaces and the guestroom, a protected outdoor seating and dining area with a barbecue are created.

For the unbuilt areas of the plot, mild interventions in combination with the intensification of the existing vegetation aim to enhance the sense and quality of the natural Cycladic landscape.

Text provided by the architects.