‘How can we create a house on a rooftop whilst maintaining the site's rooftop feel?' wondered Athens and Stockholm based architects Maria Papafigou and Johan Annerhed, when their studio, OOAK, was invited to design a new residential project on the relatively remote Greek island of Karpathos.
The firm, which had completed a striking house in Karpathos in 2019, was already familiar with the local geography and the region's picturesque architecture, and sought to combine that with their own contemporary aesthetic, while creating a building that felt new, but also ‘of its place'. Bringing a new set of challenges, this latest commission was in a completely different setting than their earliest work (a concrete holiday home on Afiarti beach), set in the village of Diafani in the island's north.
The site was key to the design concept. The lot was situated partially on the rooftop of an existing building, in line with the island's signature stepped villages and practice of shared roofs and terraces. ‘So our primary design goal was to maintain the outdoor rooftop feeling of the site, while creating a house around it,' say the architects.
RELATED STORY
In order to create some privacy for the owners, while keeping the space open to the outdoors, the team designed a perimeter wall, embracing the main living spaces; these are composed of an open plan sitting, kitchen and dinning area, which spills out to a generous terrace with a sun deck and swimming pool. A large, 13.8m opening connects effortlessly the two parts, inside and outside. Above this, an enclosed volume, which references the local vernacular architecture in its design (in particular the window shutters and metal work), contains the more private spaces. While the views are central to the design, anchoring it in its place through carefully framed vistas towards the sea and the surrounding buildings, the architects worked with a variety of textures and colours in the interiors, to ‘accentuate and enrich this experience', they explain. As a result, the spaces inside feel modern, but also distinctly welcoming and tactile, making this holiday home an ideal place to sit back and unwind.
INFORMATION
-
These illuminating fashion interviews tell the story of style in 2024Selected by fashion features editor Jack Moss from the pages of Wallpaper*, these interviews tell the stories behind the designers who have shaped 2024 – from Kim Jones to Tory Burch, Willy Chavarria to Martine Rose
-
Earthscape Studio: an Indian architecture studio of elevated simplicityBased in India's Coimbatore, Earthscape Studio places craftsmanship, sustainability and a refreshing site-specific approach at its heart; resulting in designs that appear simple but unexpected, and elevated
-
Maserati unveils the Fuoriserie By Hiroshi Fujiwara MC20 Cielo modelHiroshi Fujiwara, the so-called Godfather of Streetwear, lends his talents to Maserati’s in-house bespoke division, creating a stylish take on the company’s open-topped supercar
-
A breezy Greek island retreat lets the outdoors inOpen to the elements, an island retreat in Corfu by Invisible Studio was designed to suit the local climate, using metal mesh screens rather than windows
-
A Corfu house balances local vernacular and 21st-century minimalismCorfu House, a sensitive and minimalist holiday home, has been recently completed on the Greek island as a collaboration between architects Tony Wynbourne, Georgios Apostolopoulos and engineer Makis Gisdakis
-
Piraeus Tower is a Greek high-rise icon revived through sustainable strategiesThe restoration of the Piraeus Tower is completed in Greece, revealing a revived façade by local architecture studio PILA
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneerBack in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
-
Tour House D in Athens, where interiors are peachy keenDesigned by Cometa Architects, House D in Athens is full of curvy, colourful character
-
Sun-drenched Los Angeles houses: modernism to minimalismFrom modernist residences to riveting renovations and new-build contemporary homes, we tour some of the finest Los Angeles houses under the Californian sun
-
Three Object Apartment embraces raw concrete honesty in the heart of AthensThree Object Apartment by DeMachinas is a raw concrete home in Athens, which confidently celebrates its modernist bones
-
Residence in Dionysos was conceived as a minimalist ‘cave refuge’ outside AthensResidence in Dionysos by Desypri & Misiaris Architecture is a family home designed as a minimalist refuge among the surrounding nature's pine tree-filled slopes
