Xerolithi Residentiae by George Sinas is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Praemium A' Design Award Argenteum in Architectura Competition Category.

ArgentumArchitectura· 2021

Xerolithi Residentiae

by George Sinas

Client: Sinas Architects

Praemium A' Design Award Argenteum Winner in Architectura Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #109707

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Xerolithi Residentiae

Domus, quae miscet in ambitu suo naturali. Ardua clivos asperos, spinosos frutices sparsos, cum brevibus muris saxis retinentibus, xerolithies localiter vocatos olim terrae culturae causa creavit. Praecipuae columnae domus xerolithies formantur. Muri hi, qui levitatem habent quasi vittae in aere, videntur sensim moveri propius et abducere clivum et separatim ab invicem, formantes inter se spatiis viventibus. Tectum squalore et virentia imitatur naturalem landscape, faciens domum paene invisibilem.

The Recognition

About the Praemium A' Design Award Argenteum

Xerolithi Residentiae victor est Praemii A' Design Award Argenteum, honoris eximie amplissimi formis summi generis, pulchris et conspicuis dati. Victores Argenti opera valde splendida et creandi ingenio praedita sunt, quae praestantem peritiam, talentum et acumen auctorum suorum ostendunt. Exspectatur Xerolithi Residentiae opus mirabile, exemplare, valde professionale et penitus novum fore. Haec forma Argento victa inventum notabile et admiratum est, quod ad fines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae promovendos confert. Xerolithi Residentiae creatio est, quam multi invident, quae cupiditates excitat, sensus bonos affert et admirationem miraculumque movet.

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