An Astounding Tessellated Home in Greece Burrows Into the Earth

A 10-year project on the island of Milos culminates in a sunken residence shaped by a 19th-century math formula.

Dec 1, 2020 - 21:17

An Astounding Tessellated Home in Greece Burrows Into the Earth

A 10-year project on the island of Milos culminates in a sunken residence shaped by a 19th-century math formula.

The circular insertions are a custom operable skylight that allows for daylighting and passive cooling.

Ten years ago, in the project’s nascent stages, the architects started by walking. "The topography is very, very important," says Carlos Loperena. "So, we actually walked all of it."

Adds Alexandros Vaitsos: "Not only did we walk all of it, we spent time there. The idea was to feel out the place completely. We were not trying to create a house to be inhabited. We were inhabiting the entire landscape. And we were feeling Vaitsosthe vibe of each individual place, because it has a gigantic variety of experience."

The entire property consists of 90,000 square meters, or about 22 acres, on the island of Milos in Greece. Each of the five corrals are defined in the landscape by a white border. — The entire property comprises 90,000 square meters, or about 22 acres, on the island of Milos in Greece. Each of the five corrals is defined in the landscape by a white border.

Yiorgis Yerolymbos

Loperena and Vaitsos are the founding partners of DECA Architecture in Athens, and when the client first approached them about building out this 90,000-square-meter parcel on the Greek island of Milos, the goal was to achieve the opposite of the typical vacation community—that of overdeveloping and plopping houses down for the best view.

Instead, the client wanted to "maintain the natural conditions of the site" as much as possible, says the firm. After a thorough inventory and many steps logged, the architects suggested inserting five separate "corrals" at different points on the property. These corrals are defined as an "informal and empirical way of zoning" on the Greek islands, and are used to demarcate different uses, including residential, agricultural, and wilderness preservation.

The Orchard Corral is just below the house, and is home to a large grove of olive trees, for olive oil and white wine production. Many of the island restaurants serve the olive oil. — The Orchard Corral is just below the house, and is home to a large grove of olive trees for olive oil and white wine production. Many of the island restaurants serve the olive oil.

Yiorgis Yerolymbos

First, DECA completed the Immersion Corral in 2012, a small two-bedroom home that perches cliffside and enjoys dramatic ocean views. In 2013, they installed the Orchard Corral, which contains 20,000 square meters of productive olive trees, the largest grove on the island. A protected Preservation Corral is planted with fruit trees unique to the island that are in danger of extinction. That’s "what's considered in the Greek Islands a forest, because it has incredible biodiversity but with very short plants," says Vaitsos.