Blending into a 12,000 sqm site in Karpathos, three villas were designed by A&M to make their appearance in the humblest way, respecting the natural topography by integrating the buildings to their surrounding allowing, at the same time, stunning views to Aegean Sea and horizon.

-text by the author

With a 23% site slope, the villas emerge from the landscape in a linear arrangement parallel to the view, respecting the natural topography. Each building is sitting on a different terrain surrounded by a landscape filled ramp that connects the villas placed on a different topographic elevation. Dedicated entries to each building, carve out the natural topography in a different way while unique passages filtering the sun are created, leading to the front door of each home.

A true relationship between indoor and outdoor, integrates the building to its surrounding.

Built partially underground, the geometry and materiality appear in their original state and the buildings are able to blend with the rough context. At the same time, the benefits gained through the partial underground construction allow the villas to protect the inhabitants from the strong sun while energy consumption can be minimized achieving lower operational costs for heating and cooling.

White, clean ribbons become retaining walls creating the only contrast between the artificial & the natural. The villas are designed in simple geometries with large openings, allowing stunning views to Aegean Sea to be the focus of this journey.

This project was designed by A&M and will be constructed in a Design-Build project delivery scheme within 2021.

Drawings

Facts & Credits
Project title  Sheltered Villas
Location  Karpathos, Greece
Completion Year  2021
Gross Built Area  12,080sqm
Architecture Firm  The A&M Group
Design Team  Michael Mavroleon, Anastasios Koukoutsis, Dafni Tsolou, Esta Georgala, Marika Mavroleon, Christina Spanou, George Notaras, Olivia Stathi
Clients  Private client
Renderings  Xenia Liodi, Katerina Papamichail, A&M Group


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