HOUSE H 2012 - 2015

The holiday house is located on a sea front plot with private access to a protected beach on the western coast of the island of Corfu. The site is shaped by rock formations, a mature wild olive trees’ grove and spectacular views towards the Ionian Sea. The starting point for the design of the house was to create a single-storey building engulfing the existing tall olive trees with the minimum impact on the terrain and nature. The trees’ foliage and the cantilevering parabolic in plan timber canopy function as a climatic moderator offering comfortable, protected spaces for all-day outdoor living.

The private spaces of the house -accommodating bedrooms and wet units- are organised within 4 free standing volumes while the interstitial spaces created in the in-between define serene living spaces which through extensive glazing constitute ‘extensions’ of the outdoors. Perpendicular to the linear house an 18m-long pool cantilevers over a length of 9 meters, hovering over the landscape aligned with the sea horizon. Α terrazzo floor provides simplicity, material quality and visual continuity from the indoors to the outdoors.

The house sits upon a concrete base which houses mechanical installations, a storage space and a cistern. The walls, roof and canopy of the single storey house are constructed from prefabricated cross laminated timber allowing for swift construction process and on-site assembly. The outstanding design in line with the innovative construction philosophy, allowed for the creation of a prototypical house fully integrated in its context, with maximum energy performance and mostly, with the minimum possible volume adapted to the grid of the olive grove and the scale of the landscape.