MONOLITHOI, Mani, Greece | 2020

Architects: Desypri & Misiaris Architecture
Lead Architect: Aristeidis Misiaris
Design Team: Ira Desypri
General Contractor: Ama Hotels And Villas
Client: Monolithoi C.P.
Photographers: Giorgos Sfakianakis

The main ‘idea’ of the project was to acknowledge and be inspired by a special feature of Mani’s residential forms – the ‘Ksemonia’ (meaning ‘the one who has been left alone’), which were lonely towers or small residential complexes standing alone in the rugged landscape of Mani, and operating as shelters or observation points.

From afar, these stone-built towers appear as just one more element of the land, like monolithic outbursts from the soil, yet their very existence records the imprint of the turbulent life of the traditional Mani on this remarkable landscape. The residential complex, consisting of two stone houses, is organized around two towers, placed in the plot so as to also allow a dynamic arrangement of the outdoor spaces and the entrances to the houses, and to define additional outdoor spaces.

The modern tower-houses are designed to be in close connection with the natural landscape – just as is the case with the traditional Mani architecture, which became an integral part of the place that gave birth to it. Although the main composition is expressed in the form of the towers, their extensions which make up the rest of the complex do not exist independently within the plot, but rather are brought together into a whole – echoing the established architectural forms of the region, but in so doing also providing a modern interpretation of those same traditional typologies.

The houses are designed so that one can live 'inside' and 'outside,’ with equally dynamic spaces provided both indoors and outdoors. It thereby becomes possible to transfer one's life outside the home, in this case into a courtyard divided into a set of spaces possessing different qualities and visual frames. Pergolas, secluded corners for quiet and meditation, living spaces, infinity pools blurring the boundaries of the horizon and the sky – all combine to create the external backdrop for the houses themselves.

Throughout, completely natural building materials that bear the signs of time have been chosen, and that show the marks of their origin and their processing. The materials function as a blank canvas upon which the interplay of light and shadow gently unfolds throughout the day. The stone characterizes the place - Mani as it is expressed both in the ground itself and in its traditional constructions - Mani as it evokes an architectural vocabulary of 'monolithicity,' of austerity, of strict lines and geometric volumes.

Concrete complements the natural materials, creating smaller artificial stonework in earth tones and with coarse textures. Wood creates soft, warm and clean surfaces, also offering lattice shutters to complete the volumes. These materials are alternated inside and outside, intensifying the visual experience of the houses, constituting a natural but strictly conceived statement within the Messinian landscape.