Concrete architecture and geometrical shapes form Tense studio's Greek home design
Greek studio Tense Architecture Network composes this rural home's geometric concrete architecture out of a circle and a triangle
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

The concrete architecture of Greek studio Tense has been celebrated for its sculptural quality, modern forms and functional interiors that work equally well in an urban and rural context. The latest work by Tense Architecture Network (as the practice's full name is) belongs in the latter category, nestled in a hill, overlooking the green landscapes and calm, blue waters of the Euboean Gulf in central Greece.
The project is a private residence, and it has been composed as a neat arrangement of two clean, geometrical shapes – a triangle and a circle. In plan, the triangular form represents the main house, while the round one is a striking swimming pool, sitting just outside. The house is placed diagonally and towards the uppermost corner of the plot in order to make the most of its long views.
Entering from the garage and main entrance on the lower level, visitors are guided through a dramatic circular staircase to the residence's piano nobile. This contains an open plan living space and two generous bedrooms. These two ‘wings' are divided by a courtyard in the home's heart, which enhances light and connections between indoors and outdoors.
The architecture's reinforced concrete structure is treated with earthy, absorbent paint that gives the whole a certain roughness, highlighting the house also as a sculptural object placed among the Mediterranean landscape. Bronze-coloured aluminium frames on doors and windows, tinted glass and white plastered walls inside complete the project's restrained material palette.
While the house may seem more angular, the external spaces and landscaping (designed by Eleni Tsirintani) feels softer. A curved terrace straight out of the living space responds to the terrain's topographic lines and leads to the impressive swimming pool. The last brings to mind an elegantly oversized, concrete architecture version of a bird fountain, or the dramatic experimentations of 20th century Modernists.
‘The swimming pool refers to [the curved terrace and pergola above it] and is formed in a sculptural way, also from visible uncoated concrete,' says the studio's founder, Tilemachos Andrianopoulos. ‘Its circular shape works in addition to the triangular prism - freely placed into the surrounding countryside.'
INFORMATION
tensearchitecture.net (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).
-
Ferrari teams up with Montblanc for a high-performance fountain pen
The Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3 is as sleek and rarefied as the company’s legendary sports cars. We spoke to Ferrari's Flavio Manzoni about the collaboration
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Apartment interior design: outstanding spaces around the globe
Apartment interiors can be tricky to balance. Create a sense of space and get inspired by our global edit of architect-designed ideas. From minimalist mezzanines and lofts that bridge old and new, to sleek urban penthouses and dramatic transformations
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Zegna’s ‘Triple Stitch’ sneaker captures the house’s 112 years of innovation
Zegna’s signature ‘Triple Stitch’ sneaker returns for S/S 2023, now available in luxurious fabrications – from grained leather to canvas and soft suede
By Jack Moss • Published
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we. Scroll below, for some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
By Jonathan Bell • 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
-
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
-
Pa.te.os hotel in Portugal is a concrete love affair with Alentejo
Pa.te.os hotel by Aires Mateus is set in the Alentejo landscape in Portugal and celebrates the blend of concrete and nature
By Jessica Rose • 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