Hidden Greek Island home is submerged into the hillside
A summer retreat hidden amongst olive and pine trees is the latest residential addition to the architectural landscape of the island of Paros in Greece, courtesy of Athenian studio Scapearchitecture
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

The sunshade of a small olive grove and a cluster of pine trees with views of the Aegean on a gentle, breezy slope makes for the perfect spot to sit and relax during Greece's many, warm, sunny days. Add to this a sharp piece of contemporary architecture and you get an enviable holiday refuge – this is Scapearchitecture's Secret Garden House.
The retreat, designed by the young and dynamic Athens-based architecture studio, is located in Faragas, on the southwestern part of Paros Island. Building on a site with a considerably angled terrain and strict planning restrictions was a challenge the architects overcame by semi-submerging the house into the slope. This not only makes for a gentle addition to the picturesque environment, but also allows for a strong relationship between the architecture and the outdoors.
The living spaces are arranged in a large, open plan room that contains kitchen, dinning and sitting areas, all orientated towards the magnificent views of the green nature and the blue sea. A pergola extends out protecting this space from the intense summer sun, while adding articulation to what is the building's main facade.
Meanwhile bedrooms, bathrooms and auxiliary rooms are located further into the slope, behind and below the main living areas. This part ‘is accessible from a passageway through the existing olive grove and it is connected with the outdoor living area above through a 2 metre wide stepped ventilation opening,' explain the architects.
Subtle colours and exposed concrete make the house feel at the same time chic and almost cave-like, effortlessly balancing between architecture and landscape, indoors and outdoors. It is ‘a small refuge hidden in a secret garden, where its occupants can relax and find their inner self, enjoying the pure essence of living in the Cycladic islands,' adds the team.
INFORMATION
scapearchitecture.com (opens in new tab)
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
Glenmorangie unveils a whisky inspired by rugged Scottish forests
Glenmorangie’s A Tale of the Forest uses an ancient Highland method for drying barley to create a distinctive taste
By Mary Cleary • Published
-
Odile Mir: exploring the creative life of a self-taught polymath
Nonagenarian French artist Odile Mir is back for an encore, thanks to her granddaughter’s role in reissuing her modernist designs
By Amy Serafin • Published
-
Samuel Ross on the architectural influences behind his Acqua di Parma collaboration
Samuel Ross discusses the inspiration behind his redesign of Acqua di Parma’s iconic Colonia fragrance
By Mary Cleary • Published
-
Year in review: top 10 houses of 2022, selected by Wallpaper* architecture editor Ellie Stathaki
Wallpaper’s Ellie Stathaki reveals her top 10 houses of 2022 – from modernist reinventions to urban extensions and idyllic retreats
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Peninsula House is a timeless piece of Greek island architecture
Peninsula House, Atelier Bow-Wow’s latest collaboration with developer Oliaros, is a free-flowing, art-filled holiday home on the Greek island of Antiparos
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Roz Barr’s terrace house extension is a minimalist reimagining
Terrace house extension by Roz Barr Architects transforms Victorian London home through pared-down elegance
By Nick Compton • Published
-
Tree View House blends warm modernism and nature
North London's Tree View House by Neil Dusheiko Architects draws on Delhi and California living
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Maison de Verre: a dramatic glass house in France by Studio Odile Decq
Maison de Verre in Carantec is a glass box with a difference, housing a calming interior with a science fiction edge
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Modernist Coromandel farmhouse refreshed by Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
An iconic Coromandel farmhouse is being reimagined by the South African architectural collaborative of Frankie Pappas, Mayat Hart and Thomashoff+Partner
By Nick Compton • Last updated
-
East London house extension infuses Victorian home with warm modernism
Blurton Road by London architecture studio Emil Eve is a residential extension project that transforms a modest Clapton house
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Pergola Extension transforms Victorian Melbourne home
Pergola Extension by Krisna Cheung Architects offers a contemporary touch to a Victorian Melbourne property, infusing it with sustainability and generosity of space
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated