Semi-Buried Stone House | Vacation Residence at Lia

The work focuses on the juxtaposition of traditional concepts and contemporary syntax by weaving expressions of heritage and history into a modern vocabulary. The rocky slopes of the Cycladic landscape are dominated by the picture of a complex consisting of longitudinal dry stonewalling whose function is to hold in the precious soil on the terraces formed there. The house has been designed as a composite ‘terrace’ on a steep slope. The dry stonewalling here is transformed into a tool of composition which defines the enclosed spaces, shapes the courtyards, gives protection from the northerly winds, and frames the view, thus creating a complex of interior and exterior spaces, in sequence with the natural flow of the slope. The oxidised IPE beams which were chosen for the construction of the shades, and for more general use, are a continuation of the island’s history (mining of iron ore). By means of the use of stone and iron, in combination with floors of tamped cement mortar in an earthy c