Cretan Summer Home

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

CRETAN SUMMER HOME

Polyergo Design-consulting-construction

LANDSCAPE
Chiara Armando, Vasiliki Chatzidaki

LOCATION
Rethymno, Greece

AREA
240 m²

YEAR
2019

ENGINEERING
Polyergo, Stavros Polychronakis

MANUFACTURERS
Autodesk, Almeco Contract Forniture, Biotza In'n'out Forniture, Grada Home Interiors, Trimble

CATEGORY
House

COLLABORATORS
Pesvanti K. Sons I.κ.ε.

DESIGN TEAM
Chiara Armando, Vittoria Spinoni

PROJECT MANAGER
Polyergo, Yiannis Polychronakis

Text description provided by architect.

In strong connection with the genius loci, a summer home on the island of Crete, to forget the superfluous and reconnect with the unspoiled nature that surrounds it and its slow rhythms. Integration into the landscape, the imperative!

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

A few steps far from the ancient village of Kato Mixorròuma – whose design references are many – in the prefecture of Rethymno, the building sits on a steep slope, following its orography.

Inserted between an old oak tree on the West and an Aloni – low circular stone construction used for agriculture – protected by the Archaeological Institute on the East, the house opens towards the South while maintaining a more reserved and closed profile on the North towards the new village.

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

The essential shapes and materials – stone, wood, metal, and plaster – while declined with a contemporary language echo the traditional architecture.

The avlì – courtyard and the imposing staircase become the fulcrum and distribution axis of the entire project around which the three new volumes of the house revolve: a clear reference to the typical houses on its slopes.

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

The staircase, characterized by a funnel shape, directs, without interruption, the view of the guest towards two focal points, which bring him/her back to the outside and to the surrounding landscape.

Internally it separates the living room from the kitchen and leads to the bedrooms and services located on the lower levels.

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

Ioclimatic Thanks to a careful initial analysis and some targeted design choices, the home does not require air conditioning.

The main access from the North-side leads directly into the living area, located on the upper level and characterized by a large corner door-window that opens onto the swimming pool – set on one of the volumes of the sleeping area – creating a strong internal-external connection.

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

The custom-designed furniture recalls the mashrabiya technique in their weaves: small elements in inlaid wood, assembled according to geometric and complex design, form a narrow grid with which the windows of the bay windows called kioski of Ottoman tradition which characterize the island.

The essential interiors with some hints of tradition, however, do not give up modern comforts, preferring oak wood and its warm shades and natural materials such as jute, linen, and cotton fibers for fabrics.

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

A bond that can be traced in all spaces thanks to an exterior design without clear visual barriers and to the choice of planting plant essences typical of the place also in the land owned.

The stair axis, in fact, acts as a natural ventilation chimney, especially useful for summer cooling, while the hill, in direct contact with the lower part of the house, favors a constant internal temperature.

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis

The masonry of the most exposed upper volume, thanks to its considerable thickness, has good thermal inertia, while the dimensions of the metal canopy calculated ad hoc favor a correct summer/winter solar radiation.

Finally, also the swimming pool, located on part of the sleeping area, assists in the function of controlling and absorbing solar heat. Two solar panels provide hot water throughout the year.

Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis


Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis
Cretan Summer Home
© Vasileios Thanopoulos, Vasileios Mathioudakis


Cretan Summer Home
Basement plan
Cretan Summer Home
Ground floor plan


Cretan Summer Home
Diagrams


Cretan Summer Home
North elevation
Cretan Summer Home
East elevation
Cretan Summer Home
South elevation
Cretan Summer Home
West elevation


Cretan Summer Home
Section AA
Cretan Summer Home
Section BB
Cretan Summer Home
Section CC