PARALLEL HOUSE
En Route Architecture
ARCHITECTS
En Route Architecture
LOCATION
Kea Kithnos, Greece
CATEGORY
Sustainability
AREA
100.0 m2
PROJECT YEAR
2017
PHOTOGRAPHS
Yiorgis Yerolymbos
MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Pantelis Argyros
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Andreas Mitsopoulos
DESIGN TEAM
Nicholas Paplomatas
DESIGN LEAD
Katerina Kourkoula, Hannes Livers Gutberlet
MANUFACTURERS
DuPont, REHAU, Ekal, Gernorimatos, Ideal Standard
Text description provided by architect.
The Parallel House is a summer residence situated within a secluded natural area of a Greek Cycladic Island. The strong topographical changes of the surrounding landscape represent at the same time the conceptual source and guideline for the architectural idea.
The house - placed parallel to the view of the sea - is organised as a sequence of rooms, ranging from outdoor to partially covered to completely enclosed spaces.
These volumes create cinematic frames of the surrounding landscape, the Aegean Sea and neighbouring islands.
Due to the steep topography, the backside of the house is submerged within the landscape, while its front is exposed entirely towards the view.
All support functions of the house are placed along the back wall allowing for unobstructed movement and views within the house and towards the landscape.
A recessed corridor at the back of the house captures prevailing winds enabling cross ventilation and keeping the house cool throughout the year.
The roof of the house is used to collect rainwater in submerged tanks that is re-used in the house as filtered water. Solar panels hidden in the landscape produce sufficient energy in order to keep the house running off the grid.
The Parallel House was built as a strong and yet minimal contrast to its surrounding landscape. Through this contrast and the embedding of hidden principles, the focus is laid upon the maximum experience of the landscape itself.
