Square House is a summer house on the Cycladic island of Antiparos. The plot is seafront, southwest, and adjacent to a stream and a forest. According to the local regulations, an offset of these natural borders leaves only a tiny fragment of land to be buildable for primary residential uses. Exterior canopies can exceed these restrictions, but enclosed primary spaces must remain within. The project takes its name from the client’s request, which called for a square residence in this limited and odd-shaped area of allowed intervention.
By playing with the regulations and alternating between interior and exterior spaces, we managed to extend spatially and volumetrically the residence beyond its allowable borders, thus achieving geometrical clarity. Our proposal consists of three independent volumes that follow the plot’s topography towards the coastline in an avalanche-like formation: the parking, the guest house, and the primary residence.
A contemporary frieze defines the three volumes, signifying the border between architecture and landscape, man-made and natural. Within this frieze, interior and exterior spaces develop in a fluid relation to one another and eventually open up, taking in the sea. Carefully placed floor-to-ceiling openings capture the views to the west and the Despotikon island, a protected archaeological site, and allow for continuous flow through the residence.