Twin house
2006, Ksilokastro
Type: Assignment
Size: 264 m²
Status: Final design
Architects: Giannis Papadopoulos, Marianna Miazzon – Papadopoulou.
The building is to be built in an area of 1380,00 m2 located in “Kato Pefki” in Xylokastro, facing the provincial road. It is a project consisting of two country houses, of a total built 160 m2 area which following the owners’ demands, belong to a single building volume developed on two floors, with auxiliary spaces in the basement.
The plot’s main characteristics are the dense foliage olive trees covering the entire area and the limited width (narrow space) for the development of a building.
The principal design objectives were:
-To ensure private outdoor spaces for each residence
-To utilize the orientation conditions and views to interesting corners of the site
– To integrate the building into the dense foliage of the plot and of its neighboring environment connecting it with the terrain.
-To assemble a building into a unitary building volume whose morphology and organisation of function will show each residence’s autonomy within the whole composition.
The duplex is developed in a general “S” shape in plan, placed diagonally in relation to the large axis of the plot, therefore ensuring maximum space – within the narrow plot – for functional use as well as larger outdoor spaces-courtyards for each residence. Additionally, with this shape the building volume acquires a close dialectic relationship with the existing dense foliage while “maneuvering” through the trees: Sometimes it emerges through them in a very obvious way(e.g., in the entrance area), and sometimes it is lost in them exploiting the natural barrier of privacy they formulate for the residences.
In addition, the building volume is placed on the ground and outdoor shapes (flooring, fencing walls and retaining walls)which are designed as an extension of the building.
