On a flat piece of land along the coastline of the Northern Peloponnese region in Greece, overlooking the Parnassos mountain to the north, a single level holiday house stretches out along the coastline, with a beach-side swimming pool running parallel to the sea. Designed by R.C.TECH, the holiday house was designed for a young family in love with the Greek coastal landscape.
The peaks and angles of the white pitched volume and the exposed concrete pergola create a moment of interest in the largely flat landscape, where the sea and the horizon are the only elements of context. The shape of the house is a product of the interior and exterior rooms that interlock to create a diverse number of spaces. The architects see each unique room in the house as a device for making holiday memories.
The architecture balances a coastal lifestyle – where people gather together for late breakfasts at midday and games of cards in the evenings, with quiet and private moments for reading and thinking. While each space has been carefully thought out, the plan is remarkably simple. Two wings for sleeping extend out either side of the central yellow front door. At the heart of the plan is the living space – where kitchen, living and dining are softly separately by the open fireplace, and the two large cylindrical skylights that bring daylight into the kitchen and dining spaces.
An extension of the interior, the outdoor living space sites between pool and indoor living room. Defined by the concrete frame of the pergola, the terrace is orientated towards the beach and the sea, while to south a small courtyard forms a quiet sanctuary.
For R.C.TECH, designing a beach house is serious business – a holiday home is a very special place, where family memories are made and identities are formed. The yellow door for example was designed as a memorable feature for children, while the interplay of shadows and sunlight created to encourage contemplation in time, nature and the earth.
INFORMATION
-
Arthur Casas reimagines Villa Dubrovnik as a modern Adriatic retreatThe Brazilian architect brings poetic restraint and light to Croatia’s most elegant coastal hotel
-
14 of the best new books for music buffsFrom music-making tech to NME cover stars, portable turntables and the story behind industry legends – new books about the culture and craft of recorded sound
-
Margaret Howell marks 55 years in business by reissuing pieces from her archiveThe stalwart of British design will reissue a series of archival silk scarves to celebrate the landmark anniversary, alongside an era-traversing exhibition of foulards at the brand’s Wigmore Street store
-
Explore a refreshed Athens apartment full of quirk and midcentury characterA 1960s Athens apartment is revived by architects Aspassia Mitropapa and Christina Iliopoulou, who elegantly brought its midcentury appeal to the 21st century
-
A beautifully crafted concrete family house in a Mexican suburb is a contemplative oasisHW Studio have shaped a private house from raw concrete, eschewing Brutalist forms in favour of soft light, enclosed spaces and delicate geometries
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July housesFrom geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
-
A new Athens gallery is a celebration of old and new, a stone's throw from the AcropolisNew Athens gallery Melas Martinos by Local Local is a contemporary art space, a stone's throw from the Acropolis, in the Greek capital's Monastiraki neighbourhood
-
A clifftop Rethymno house tells a story, framing views as far as the Libyan SeaThis house in the Rethymno region of Crete, designed by architects Gkotsis Serafimidou, is rich in local and natural materials – an oasis at which to disconnect
-
A retro video game is the unlikely inspiration for this island house in GreeceDesigned by ARP, this island house on Antiparos is a contemporary Cycladic home inspired by Tetris
-
A Costa Navarino house peeks out from amidst olive groves to ocean viewsThis Greek holiday residence designed by K-Studio balances timeless design principles with modernist touches
-
A breezy Greek island retreat lets the outdoors inOpen to the elements, an island retreat in Corfu by Invisible Studio was designed to suit the local climate, using metal mesh screens rather than windows
