Whole view of the house.

Architecture: Gem Architects

About Studio

“We owe to the fields that our houses will not be the inferiors of the virgin land they have replaced. We owe it to the worms and the trees that the buildings we cover them with will stand as promises of the highest and most intelligent kinds of happiness.”
Alain de Botton

We are interested in reading about topos, the specific landscape, and nature. We believe in buildings that relate to their environment and emerge from it, creating new structures and new ways of comprehending space. We try through the form and functionality of our buildings to envelop the people living in them with directness, poetics, and optimism.

The terrain of the area served as inspiration for the design's use of curving movement lines.
The terrain of the area served as inspiration for the design’s use of curving movement lines.
The architecture develops a system of curved walls of varying heights that interact with the surrounding environment while connecting the three buildings by mimicking the asymmetrical curved shapes of the land in the area.
The architecture develops a system of curved walls of varying heights that interact with the surrounding environment while connecting the three buildings by mimicking the asymmetrical curved shapes of the land in the area.
The linear positioning of the building volumes follows the ground's minor incline.
The linear positioning of the building volumes follows the ground’s minor incline.
On the plot's center is a two-story building with a communal swimming pool.
In the plot’s center is a two-story building with a communal swimming pool.
Following the curved movement lines and tying the houses to their surrounding topos, the landscape is dotted with fragrant herbs and dry vegetation.
Following the curved movement lines and tying the houses to their surrounding topos, the landscape is dotted with fragrant herbs and dry vegetation.

The project consists of three stone-built residences in the Kremales area, on Paros island. Two of the three houses are single-storied, with a 62 m2 area each and the third is a two-story house of 108,74 m2. The design is based on curved movement lines, that are inspired by the area’s topography.

Following the irregular curved shapes of the region’s plots of land, the design creates a system of variable-height curved walls, that interact with the landscape while unifying all three houses. The building volumes are positioned in a linear arrangement, following the slight slope of the ground.

Clear views towards the sea are secured for all three houses. Exposed stone and white plaster are alternated to create a micro-scale canvas of colors and different materials. The two-story building with a common swimming pool is placed in the center of the plot.

Each residence has its own parking space and its yard. The surrounding landscape is planted with aromatic herbs and dry vegetation, following the curved movement lines and connecting the houses with their surrounding topos.

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