Architects Directory 2010: Skourtis-Stavropoulou Architects

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PROFILE

Architect Elena Stavropoulou combined degrees in both law and architecture, before relocating to London to follow a course on Environment and Energy Studies at the AA; the same course that her now partner, Giorgos Skourtis, graduated from, before the pair set up their architectural practice in 2003. Their joint portfolio includes single-family homes, apartments, wineries and small industrial buildings, retail and exhibition stands, all with a special interest in eco-friendly design and applications. 'The synergy between any architectural intervention and the existing cultural, social and climatic context in which it takes place is the most important design goal in our practice,' they say. A balance between architecture and the natural context is the ideal goal for the architects, who find inspiration in the economy of vernacular architecture and have been influenced by the likes of Luis Barragan, Tandao Ando, Glenn Murcutt and the cultural and social dimension in the work of Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy.’

House in Nafplio

Envisioned on a hillside north of Nafplio in Greece, the house designed by Skourtis and Stavropoulou is a sculptural composition of stone walls and terraces. In order to achieve maximum flexibility in the interior layout, the house was designed in a single level and a long rectangular form, which runs along the east-west axis. Arranging the living spaces on the south side and the utility and wet areas on the north, the house is as integrated as possible within it surroudnings, half-buried in the ground for better natural temperature control. And this is not the only environmental strategy employed in this design; solar gains in winter, natural ventilation and lighting, protection from the excess sunshine in summertime through low emission glazing and a green roof, are all part of the architects’ plan.

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