Syros house is conceived like a small Greek island village
This Syros house by architects Block722 is a holiday home in Greece, designed like a small island village
This Syros house, titled Residence Viglostasi and designed by Athens-based architecture studio Block722, is a Greek island holiday home conceived to feel entirely in sync with its picturesque, natural locale. The project – a commission for a private client, a family of four – had to draw on its island setting while offering a generous and contemporary, yet modest space for its residents. The answer? The architects crafted the house’s distinctive character by cleverly drawing on the typology of small Aegean villages – minimalist architecture constellations of low volumes, often found sprawled on hillsides, looking out towards the sea.'
Syros house: a home in sync with its island setting
Block722 is known for a signature, masterful use of minimalism that taps on each project’s surroundings, natural materials, gentle colour tones and serene overall atmosphere – past projects have included the Cretan retreat ‘O Lofos’, completed last year. Here too, the team, led by studio co-founders Sotiris Tsergas and Katja Margaritoglou, worked with the sense of place crafted by the typical Greek island dwellings, using stone, timber and white render to compose a family of low volumes. These form a complex of small structures connected by external pathways and terraces – much like the region’s Aegean island communities.
Inside, ‘gentle luxury’ is instilled via careful material selection and a distinct sense of space – flowing interiors, expansive gardens and terraces, and large openings throughout. The materials used span Olympus marble, travertine stone, bamboo, and oak wood.
‘It all perfectly fits the client’s vision for a home that feels like a family of traditional Aegean structures, offering different views, feels and qualities of space to play with and enjoy,’ the architects say in a written statement.
Nature permeates every corner, either through the long sea vistas, the numerous planted areas and decked terraces, shading garden pergolas, and the green roofs throughout the complex, which have been populated with local species. Meanwhile, a few steps at the bottom on the sloped plot lead visitors down to the clients’ own cove, used, they explain, for private swimming and yacht mooring.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director 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), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneer
Back in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour House D in Athens, where interiors are peachy keen
Designed by Cometa Architects, House D in Athens is full of curvy, colourful character
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Three Object Apartment embraces raw concrete honesty in the heart of Athens
Three Object Apartment by DeMachinas is a raw concrete home in Athens, which confidently celebrates its modernist bones
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Residence in Dionysos was conceived as a minimalist ‘cave refuge’ outside Athens
Residence in Dionysos by Desypri & Misiaris Architecture is a family home designed as a minimalist refuge among the surrounding nature's pine tree-filled slopes
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This Greek villa's superyacht aesthetics conceal two self-contained family residences
A Greek villa in the upscale Athens suburb of Filothei, House Symbiosis is home for two sibling families, designed in white, sweeping volumes by Direction Architects
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A Filothei house rises to the occasion in its angled Athens plot
A Filothei house by Kallos Turin is an Athens residence rising to the occasion on an angled plot
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This colourful Athens apartment takes small space living to a new level
Pocketed away on a residential street, this colourful Athens apartment smartly utilises every inch of its footprint with segmented flooring and rich textural design
By Tianna Williams Published
-
KKMK, Greece: Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023
The Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2023's newest entry is Greek studio KKMK, behind projects such as this minimalist haven in Athens’ Psychiko
By Ellie Stathaki Published