Project: House in Sikamino
Architects: Tense Architecture Network
Location: Sykamino, Greece
Photographs by: Filippo Poli
House in Sikamino by Tense Architecture Network
The House in Sikamino by Tense Architecture Network is a one-of-a-kind residence in Greece, characterized by its elongated roof that doubles as a walkable garden. This rhomboid-shaped roof is home to the central living area, while the sleeping quarters are located at the edges. The residence features an underground level to support an agricultural lifestyle, with a concrete exterior and iron frames, blinds, and shutters.
The field is elongated, rural, planted with olive trees. The land is dominant. –How could a residence rise out of the ground, how could it be confined to a roof? The residence is its roof. A sixty meters long one. While approaching the plot, it can be perceived as a slightly elevated strip of earthy crust in front of the distant mountains of Euboea. It can be walked on. The roof is born from and returns back to the ground; it is planted likewise: helichrysum, rosanthemum, lavender, gauras, thyme. The roof’s shape is rhomboid and the living space is hosted under its central, maximum width area, while the sleeping quarters occupy the edges.
The composition seeks to vigorously merge the residence with its elongated site. An additional, fully underground level has been introduced to facilitate the increased needs that the intent agricultural life requires. A curvilinear car ramp enters the rhombus in transverse, therefore creating an opening towards the cultivable part of the field. Building shell is of reinforced concrete, exposed on roofs and walls. Iron frames, sun-protecting blinds, metallic shutters palliate the sense of transparency. The sculptural clarity of the ex-tended, con¬crete roof was attained by means of inversion of all beams but one, which abuts at the central column: the hearth. The Residence is nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, Mies Van der Rohe Award 2013.
