"Best Project Award" and "Peers Award" for the Best Project, Greek Architecture Awards 2022, DOMa Magazine




Architect
Foteini Kallikouni
Project Year: 2021
Area: 60 sq.m.
Location: Kato Verga, Messinia, Greece
Type: Residential
Status: Commission (under construction)
Construction Manager:
Foteini Kallikouni
The project is conceived as a summer retreat in a remote village and its design is built upon the dynamic contrast between the ruins of a 100 years old stone house versus a “light” structure of indoor and outdoor spaces. The project acts as a subtle threshold that provides not only the access to the decaying house but also an interesting accommodation for the visitor.
The ruins enclose comfortable and view protected areas for lounging, swimming and showering, dining and food preparation ensuring all day outdoor living. An attempt is made to reconsider the degree of “privacy” of each space for summer vacations. Therefore, an inversion of the existing typology of the yard is considered necessary in order to follow the current extrovert lifestyle of a modern visitor.
One canopy and one deck are installed to define two types of spaces. The bedroom and the open-air kitchen is accommodated in the former courtyard of the old house facing south to the village and taking advantage of the sea view. The pool and the lounging area are circumscribed by the ruins of the main house while maintaining the old overgrown walls. At the edge of the new structure, sliding panels are installed as a filter to provide sun protection during the afternoon.
The main entrance to the structure has remained the same as well as the old stoned path “kalderimi” that leads to it. The ruin remains intact and the new structure does not adhere to the decaying walls. It is only there to recover the original essence of the place and challenge the typology of the stone house.