Single-family house in Spetses
Location | Kasteli, Spetses, Greece |
Design Year | 2018 |
Construction Year | 2019 |
Area | 134.7 m2 |
Located at Kasteli, one of the many beautiful neighborhoods of Spetses island, this existing old building was to be renovated in order to accommodate a couple and their friends, by entirely changing the interior while also keeping the windows positions on its elevations. It is a box-shaped, detached building surrounded at its most part by a courtyard where there is a traditional, wood-fired brick oven and a shed.
The three original levels of the interior were recreated anew and a fourth one was added by raising the reconstructed roof by 60cm, thus increasing the clearance of the interior space. The design concept here was to create an open space of different levels by taking full advantage of the length of the interior. This was achieved by using staircases that go up and down only half a floor for three out of the four levels. For the fourth level, we used the existing built staircase to descend one whole floor and reach the master bedroom, which can also be accessed from the courtyard. All three staircases are grouped at the same area of the plan, off-center and they occupy about ¼ of it. This group separates the living room and kitchen from the room where the existing fireplace is. From the living room you can go up to the guest room whereas from the fireplace room you can go down to the master bedroom.
The exterior was approached with due respect to the building's original presence. The openings dimensions were altered according to the proportions indicated by the Spetses traditional architecture. Part of the courtyard was covered by pebbles in formations well-known to Spetses tradition. The wood-fired brick oven and the shed were carefully restored.