The landscape of Orei village on the island of Evia is an agricultural flatland next to the sea. The specific plot is situated among other fields of crops and features an old olive tree. The building programme of this rural project includes a two bedroom house, a clothes atelier hosting the professional activities of one of the owners, a storage space for agricultural activities and shaded areas to live in the open.
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The main concept was to break the built volume in two parts separating the housing unit from the storage room and the clothes workshop. The main volume of the house was placed on the north end of the plot while the atelier, the storage room and the covered parking form an entrance block slightly retracted from the front road. Positioned on the two far ends, the two volumes create a protected continuous field garden, acting with the qualities of an in-between space, allowing for multiple uses while blending with the agricultural landscape surrounding the plot.
Simple sculpting actions form the white plastered building volumes.
The rectangular volume of the house incorporates in its shape the olive tree adjacent to it while a pitched roof shelters both the house and its covered terrace. Shaped by a subtle curve leaning inwards the white façade of the entrance volume retracts to welcome visitors. In direct connection the canopy of the main house forms an opposite curve to shelter outdoor activities and direct views towards the enclosed field garden.
The entrance rectangular volume consists of two closed spaces on its sides and a covered open air space in between serving as a sheltered entrance and parking space. In a similar layout, the private spaces of the house – consisting of two bedrooms units – are split in two, and placed on the sides of the elongated volume allowing the central part to host the common spaces.
In terms of softscape design the landscape follows the flat shape of the area but proposes an organic combination of an aesthetic garden with an agricultural productive landscape. The result is a field like landscape planted with Mediterranean species with areas of productive crops scattered through the field. The hardscape design consists of levelled surfaces adjacent to the volumes and an organic design of connecting pathways mimicking natural paths. Paths of stabilized gravel with a variety of width connect the two volumes freely. This way the landscape allows multiple flows through its grounds while giving levelled areas of various sizes for multiple uses.