Salamis Summer house, Salamis Island

From the exterior, the house appears as a monolithic construction, whose solid walls shield the contents of the house. They nevertheless conceal a large central courtyard within, accessed from the street by a tall gate. A second gate at the opposite end leads to a small garden and pool at the back of the plot. Within the main courtyard, two glass boxes divide the space into indoor and outdoor rooms, housing the main living areas. As the sliding glass doors are reconfigured, the house is split into two or unified around the central courtyard, according to the constantly shifting paradigm of outdoor living.
All of the necessary household fixtures are embedded within the niches bordering the kitchen and living room. Private rooms are embedded like cavities in the outer wings, where additional small courtyards allow light and air to infiltrate. The steel structure within the main courtyard opposes the heavy surrounding walls and reinforces the dual nature of the residence: fortified and porous, solid and transparent, monolithic and light. Painted with rust colored boat primer, it is a tribute to the maritime history of the island, the shipyards and the small ferries that connect Salamis to the mainland.

What makes this project one-of-a-kind?
This small summer residence reinterprets the space of leisure within a former site of production and labor. The postindustrial landscape of Salamis, between city and nature, land and sea, informs the project’s introspection, which capitalizes on the essential resources of climate, outdoor space and economy of means.