Formerly, man mostly lived in the countryside, where he had the need to build cabins as shelters to protect himself from the dangers and natural phenomena. Today, he lives primarily in the city, often having the need to seek refuge in the tranquility of nature, in order to reconnect with it.
Based on this, the design idea for the two eco-tourism residences–modern shelters came up. The residences are located in the village of Planitero, in the mountainous part of Achaea, Greece, in a location next to the waters of the Aroanios river, that is covered with plane trees.
The concept idea of the project turned to familiar forms such as the camping tent on the mountain and the stone cabin with the typical roof. Thus, the element of the roof is intensified; it rises almost from the ground and below it all the residence’s functions are placed. At the same time, the traditional materials, those of stone and wood, are combined with the metal roof and béton brut, redefining the traditional residence of the village today.
The entrance to the residence is marked by a stone protrusion on the north face, which creates a sheltered threshold. The visitor enters the residence through a low-height corridor where the stoicism of stone and wood foreshadows the comfort, slow living. There, under the loft, the auxiliary functions are placed. While moving forward, the main area of the residence "opens up" in front of it where the view of the mountains and the greatness of nature is revealed. In the open loft the sleeping area is placed. Programmatically, the basic and essential actions for living for short periods were accommodated, considering the minimum space for comfortable living.
The placement of the houses on the plot takes maximum advantage of the orientation by opening up almost the entire south side for optimal insolation even on winter days and at the same time it is protected from the cold of the north, in which a small opening has been placed to ventilate the space.
Finally, the reconciliation of the two residences, through their placement in the space and their geometry, recall the peaks of the mountains that enclose both the cabins and the village, integrating them into the landscape.
Credits:
Lead Architect: Haris Oikonomou
Design Team: Alexandros Skoutas, Irene Verykiou (student)
Structural Engineer: Aristides Asimakopoulos
3d visualization: Xenia Liodi