In Mykonos, a famous Greek island that gradually builds a liberal Cycladic culture, Kipseli architecs are called to renovate and combine two old Mykonian homes in Chora (town) and transform them into one luxurious contemporary villa. The owner, an investor of East Asian origin, is a Mykonos worshiper as well as a jewelry designer inspired by nature.
There was nothing indicating the battle that was bound to evolve... The client, while admiring the elements of nature and embracing primal human archetypes, was feeling distant to the acclaimed standards of traditional Cycladic architecture. They desired unhindered contact with the outside and the enchanting view and, at the same time, due to the upcoming commercial use of the property, they prioritized a fast sugarcoated reality that pleases the eye and clashes with amenity. How can a traditional house in Cyclades share the same facilities and luxuries as a loft in Hong Kong?
As a consequence, the architects, while obliged to wear intellectual blinkers, did not want to commercialize the property and tried meticulously to keep the essential traditional Cycladic architectural qualities, such as the blinding Greek light, the stones, the winding trees, elements that the owner recognized as important in their diversity. They tried to use these elements as a common denominator and aimed at highlighting the feelings experienced by the anthropogenic and natural Cycladic landscape while restoring the memories and qualities of vernacular architecture, as interpreted locally through the dipole of fluid structure and raw materials.
Fluid all-white volumes embrace raw wood and natural stone. The dazzling Greek light penetrates the house through scenic holes and filters, playing an indescribable play of shadows and emotions. The openings grow and the inside and outside blend together in spaces and places where sleep, food and enjoyment coexist harmoniously. At the same time, as if a circle is drawn in the sand with a wooden stick, the circular structures inside and outside symbolize the meaning of home, magnetizing people through their centralizing and reassuring force.
Thus, the house stands out malleable and convenient: the result of a battle between Asian and Greek culture, as well as a debate between the commercial and the private, home and hotel, it does not conform to the standards of urban design, leaving room for the simplicity of the need, to create the feeling of luxury. Leaving space for the luxury of freedom, a freedom of thoughts, of conscience, of criticism, an architectural freedom. In an island that has been famous for defending freedom how can one say otherwise?
Team:
Architects: Kipseli Architects
Principal Architect: Kirki Mariolopoulou
Design Team: Stylianos Axiotakis, Maria Tsouma
Photography: George Messaritakis & Andreas Bekas
