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The role of the architect, and the narrative through the architectural creation of the  "Life of others...".

 

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OLIVE AND STONE RESIDENCE

 (text by Nikos Mourikis)

The Katsimpiri residence was born from the dream.

Childhood memories and Scent of the earth became an  obsession for the owner.

¨ so one night he described it to me, as a sum of images running before the eyes of a child behind a window of a decadent small farmhouse, nostalgia, a carefree life where in total freedom, lived a truly unique. The finite structure and the vastness of the countryside.

Their home was the yard, lounge and reception together, and shelter structured. Simple rectangular composition of a single space, hugging and restringing people and their dreams. An approach almost ascetic.

Colors, aromas, voices, and the land carpet that is resting the nostalgia.

Through a conversation of pithy meanings and charged with the nostalgia of a time that the user lived, the foundations of the composition came in.

Bow to nature.

With what this implies. The bet was to feel the rain from the scent of the Earth. Because the seasons are not only climate, but also aromas, and colors. All senses are stimulated by the magic of nature.

So I started seeking materials naturally, and a synthesis that would converses with the immediate environment.

Eleonas.

Trees with a history of aligned in a strict layout, dictate the color and the material. Stone in the color of olive leaves. We traveled to the Mainalon mountain to draw the raw material.

So it was designed by stealing from the farmhouse the orientation, where he was hiding Sophia, a Mediterranean house on two floors with storage space in the basement.

A sturdy stone construction, with large openings and lowered Windows. The view spreads like a carpet and every shot has land, skyline and sky.

A trilogy almost dreamy.

Like paintings of the Renaissance.

Irregularly and freely built stone with joints and sculpted stones for the corners.

The wind is left so whatever it takes to clean out the dampness of the spaces, while an extensive patio is hosted inside the building's volume, to protect and free at the same time.

On the ground floor the day zone, reception lounge dining kitchen, (distinct uses in a single space) and a guest house with bathroom.

On the floor three bedrooms two bathrooms office open in the stairwell.

In one-bedroom large opening leads to a balcony in the atrium, housed by an elaborate wooden structure.

Uphill from the main gate of the estate and reaching near the house from the north side, walks the visitor a path, parallel to the residence, having the opportunity to assimilate the basic architectural elements of the composition. Ascending the central staircase to the entrance, it discovers levels and a horizontal layout of uses. The entrance is not on the main side of the building the northern, but in the West that allows you to pass quietly from nature to the structured.

The surrounding area is formed with a distinctive Greek garden and apart from this olive grove, which embraces the building. Around the house small sheltered from the wind green spaces with benches offer the possibility of relaxation and meditation.

Nothing is more reminiscent of the old farmhouse, built in moderation of the elementary competence, countries-uses, but it is not a little to understand the autumn rain with closed eyes as... many years ago.

Because the architecture is the daughter of nostalgia... and the Dream....

Nikos Mourikis

Architect.