‘Standing in such a steep plot we could easily predict that this house would have an impressive view. What wasn’t foreseen was the way that this view would define the house itself,’ the architects at Mplusm begin, talking about their latest project, Reflection House, an Athens villa in the suburb of Politia. The project, commissioned on a steeply angled, verdant site overlooks the city and was developed as a sculptural object to frame the views – while making for a comfortable and contemporary family home too.
An elevated platform contains the ground level and accommodates a large balcony, plants, the living room, dining room, kitchen and a pool. The vistas feel endless and the house’s reflections and the play of light bouncing off the water, glass and polished surfaces make for an ethereal atmosphere, bringing to mind the iconic modernist homes of Los Angeles.
The team at Mplusm, headed by founders Memos Filippidis and Marita Nikoloutsou, worked hard to ensure there is the absolute minimum number of columns in the house, which features a 16m span roof, yet feels expansive and flowing inside, not a pillar in sight – a nod to the generosity and drama of large, natural caves or aeroplane hangars. ‘What’s actually happening is that all the support of the roof is hidden overhead in large metal beams that span between the side walls, above the false ceiling,’ the architects explain.
The material composition inside and out played a key role in the overall effect and this Athens villa’s identity. Instead of the studio’s more typical use of wood and grey tones, Mplusm here chose to work with glossier finishes that embrace the region’s abundant natural light to enhance the architecture. Swathes of glass are matched by soft green lacquers on the wood, painted metal of doors, and gleaming black marble.
‘It is true that we often seek in our works a sense of fluidity and transparency. By obtaining the form of a hangar as previously mentioned, this house became literally a frame for the view excluding all supports and obstacles,’ says the team. ‘The low sun of the west penetrates the whole ground floor and summarises daily, in practice, the permeability of the space, activating all the reflections from the water, the metal filter, the windows and the shiny surfaces of the carpentry.’
INFORMATION
-
Year in review: top 10 design stories of 2024Wallpaper* magazine's 10 most-read design stories of 2024 whisk us from fun Ikea pieces to the man who designed the Paris Olympics, and 50 years of the Rubik's Cube
-
Sharon Smith's Polaroids capture 1980s New York nightlifeIDEA Books has launched a new monograph of Smith’s photographs, titled Camera Girl and edited by former editor-in-chief of LIFE magazine, Bill Shapiro
-
A multifaceted Beverly Hills house puts the beauty of potentiality in the frameA Beverly Hills house in Trousdale, designed by Robin Donaldson, brings big ideas to the residential scale
-
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
-
Modernist architecture: inspiration from across the globeModernist architecture has had a tremendous influence on today’s built environment, making these midcentury marvels some of the most closely studied 20th-century buildings; here, we explore the genre by continent
