FILOTHEI 1 | 2011

The building, a three storeys high prism, is carved out to create covered exterior terraces. A heightened effect of shadows gets energized, a play of solid versus void, light versus darkness.

Corner apertures reveal diagonal views; black lava stone intensifies the shadows in the recessed spaces. Thin wooden louvers create a continually moving/evolving dialogue of light and shadow. Natural sand textured and colored stucco bestows the walls with poetics.

A bio-climatic design is applied. The terraced spaces are buffering zones from the sun and rain. The system of openings allows for natural cross ventilation throughout. The western structure with the wooden louvers allows the garden to climb to create a roof garden which insulates the house from heat and cold.

The captured daily movement of light, the seasonal blossoming and fading of florae, and the very gradual aging of wood, stone, concrete and metal make this house a vessel for witnessing the passage of time.