Vacation House: A Modern Cabin That ‘Growing’ from the Earth

Located outside the area of Livada Kissamou in Greece, Vacation House is a modern cabin designed by PALY architects. The area is an arid and wild landscape where there are rounded rocks and large boulders. This house sits in a place of an existing building ruin that was there since 1900.

The goal of this 2016 residential project is to integrate the house into the landscape. This project adopts methods of construction of old buildings in the area. The result is a cozy accommodation that is fully integrated just like ‘growing’ from the earth.

Local stones are used for bearing masonry while the window frames and lintels are made of solid wood iroko. The house is protected by a semicircular stone wall with a built-in oven and outdoor kitchen from the north wind of the region. The fences, furniture, planting, built-in benches, and ground relief complete the natural continuation.

Vacation House

Natural materials and traditional elements in earth tones dominate throughout the house such as unpainted metal, local stone, kourasanit, untreated wood, wicker in shutters, cement in soil color, fence, pergola, wooden planks on the floors, and tiles of baked clay.

The shaped floor is designed with an irregular finish and the same color as the soil to create continuity. Parts of the yard and pebbles on the roof are a beach continuation.

It is a cozy modern cabin that perfect for those who love to have a connection with nature.

Architects: Nikos Lykoudis, Ismene Papaspiliopoulou, Konstantinos Platyrrachos

Photographer: George Anastassakis