MONASTERY HOUSE IN MANI

The task was to create a space for the family to come together whilst also making room for each member to have individual space within the complex. Due to the remote and rather wild location of the house, security was an important issue. A meditation room was also a request a space where they could practice their Buddhist beliefs. In this framework, the building was envisioned like the many monasteries that can be found throughout Greece.

A walled compound that would have separate structures inside, offering the clients both the individual space and security they were searching for. The inner compound was designed to provide an openness that one probably wouldn’t expect if looking from the outside walls, with each separate area being accessed only via external walkways. The core of the compound is a terraced courtyard flanked by individual buildings and an elongated swimming pool at the lowest level, opening unexpected vistas to the sea and mountain landscape, while maintaining it feel of an intimate enclosure.

Provided that the owners had a particular love for local traditional stone buildings with tiled roofs, but were also drawn to a more modern flat-roofed building with its minimalist aesthetic, the home became a combination of both styles, using the modern style with ample pressed cement surfaces and metal frames for the individual areas, such as the bedrooms and the kitchen, and the traditional stone and tile with wooden shutters in the communal building, which contains the living area and the meditation area below it.

The outcome appears rooted in the mountain landscape, and modern at once. By using the guiding idea of a monastery, the design offers the perfect balance between the openness of the walkways and the sanctuary of the surrounding walls. By fusing modern and traditional building styles, the project becomes something a little unique for the area: a place the owners can be proud to call their home.