Xerolithi Residence by George Sinas is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Silver A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Competition Category.

SilverArchitecture· 2021

Xerolithi Residence

by George Sinas

Client: Sinas Architects

Silver A' Design Award Winner in Architecture Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #109707

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Xerolithi Residence

A house that blends in its natural environment. Steep rough slopes, scattered thorny bushes, along with short stone retaining walls, locally called xerolithies created a long time ago for land cultivation purposes. The main facades of the house are formed as xerolithies. These walls that have a lightness like ribbons in the air and seem to be moving gently closer and away of the slope and independently from one another, forming living spaces in between them. The roof covered with dirt and vegetation imitates the natural landscape, making the house almost invisible.

The Recognition

About the Silver A' Design Award

Xerolithi Residence is a Silver A' Design Award winner, an extraordinarily prestigious recognition granted to top-of-the-line, gorgeous, and impressive designs. Silver winners are tremendously brilliant and exceedingly creative works that illustrate the outstanding expertise, talent, and acuity of their designers. Xerolithi Residence is expected to be a wonderful, showpiece work that is remarkably professional and profoundly innovative. This Silver A' Design Award-winning design is a highly notable, admired invention that benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Xerolithi Residence is a vastly envied creation that evokes desires, introduces positive feelings, and sparks amazement and wonderment.

Image Analysis

Color Temperature: CoolSymmetry: VerticalBackground: No Clear Backdrop

Where to Get It

Innovative Residential Architecture Services

We design award-winning homes that harmonize with their natural surroundings. Our Athens-based studio brings creative expertise to every project, from initial concept through construction. Specializing in innovative residential architecture, we challenge conventional approaches while crafting beautiful, functional spaces that tell unique architectural stories.

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Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: When one thinks of the Greek Islands, stacked white boxes come to mind. The design challenged this morphological preconception, by imagining the main facades of the house as xerolithies, starting low and gradually developing a sufficient height. They move closer and away of the slope and independently from one another, forming spaces in between them.
The traditional bamboo pergola with its wooden raw beams in their natural color can be seen throughout the length of the house, inside and outside. The beams follow the curvy morphology, like vertebrae of a long spinal cord.
Dimensions & Packaging: The ground floor area of the house is 180sqm.
Additional 60sqm of basement area.
Tags: Architecture, Cycladic Architecture, Landscape Design, Integrated design, Summer House, Island Architecture, Greece, Aegean, Serifos, Planted Roof, Curves, Wavy Form, Stone
Production Technology: The outer shell of the structure is mainly stone. Exterior walls are 50cm thick. Concrete structural system.
Design Challenge: The hardest part of this design was taming the wavy morphology. Making it sensual yet keeping the layout of the house functional.
Inspiration: The main focus of the design was to create a house that blends in its natural environment. An environment comprised of steep dirt and gravel slopes, dressed with scattered wild thorny bushes, and beautiful large rock formations. Though the most important existing elements, were the short stone retaining walls, locally called xerolithies, created a long time ago for land cultivation purposes. These walls, usually not more than a meter in height formed flat stripes of land parallel to the slope and extended along the entire surface of the hillside.
The site with its xerolithies was the spark of inspiration.
Project Duration: The project was designed in 2015.
The contraction started in 2016 and lasted until 2018.
The house is situated in Kalo Ampeli, Serifos Island, Cyclades, Greece.
Operation Flow: All spaces have been placed sequentially to spread out as long and thin as possible. The main house is separated by the bedrooms in order to create a space for the main covered veranda along the long spine of the house.
Team Members: Leader Architect: George Sinas (Sinas Architects)
Team: Maria Mamoura
Interior Decoration: Olga Ktena
Image Credits: Photographer of all images: Yiorgos Kordakis
Drawings and Renderings and sketch: George Sinas