MIRAGE

TINOS ISLAND, GREECE

2013-

ID

LOCATION:         TINOS ISLAND, GREECE

YEAR:                    2013-

TYPE:                     RESIDENTIAL

SIZE:                      198m2

STATUS:               COMMISSION

Located in the northern side of the Cyclades, Tinos is the third largest island of the island formation.  Known as the “Island of Madonna”, Tinos is the greatest center of pilgrimage in Greece. Within its landscape of rugged, rocky hills lay more than 40 villages, like marble fragments of an ancient statue scattered across the hills. The island is famous for its unspoiled architecture, its picturesque villages and beautiful scenery. More than a thousand churches can be found on slopes and hilltops, a thousand or so dovecotes, while masterpieces of local architecture and tens of derelict windmills are found in its gullies and valleys. The scenery is lined by hundreds of kilometers of dry stonewalls that make the landscape unique.

The residence is situated on a steep sloped rocky plot facing south, overlooking the Aegean Sea. The site offers protection from the prevailing winds and a natural plateau which from the beginning was identified as the optimal location for the residence as it would minimize the impact to the landscape due to excavation. It is a single-level structure and has a surface of 198 square meters. The location allows benefiting from wonderful and panoramic views of the landscape and seascape.  Our approach to the program was Doric. Only the essential features and programmatic elements to sustain a comfortable stay were incorporated in the design.

Our goal was to integrate the building into the landscape like it was part of it.The living space is covered by a rimless pool that produces a visual effect of the water extending to the horizon, vanishing and merging with the seascape. From a distance especially if viewed from the path of approach, on ahigher ground, the only visible feature of the house is the sea like surface of the pool. The water during the day reflects the surroundings and during the night, the star filled night sky.The mirroring pool of water carefully positioned on the landscape evokes memories of the optical phenomenon of the mirage from which the project was named.

The most of the visible construction materials were extracted from the vicinity and were used to make the house ‘disappear’ into the scenery. Local techniques were also borrowed like the characteristic dry wall construction found in abundance in the island. This technique was implemented with minor modifications; on the side embankment walls in each side of the pool volume.The local materials have a low impact on the environment and they are very efficient as insulating materials. The rear walls are made of retained earth and have layers of vegetation that regulates the temperature and cools the environment through evaporation. The pool acting as roof provides thermal insulation and protection from solar radiation and heat transmittance.

We wanted to make a house fused with its surroundings, an invisible oasis hidden from the unsuspected eyes. The house is acts almost like an observation post as it clings to the rocks and oversees the dramatic cascading landscape. A landscape left almost intact due to the implemented design strategy and the careful selection of materials.