Holiday Apartments in Greece by Mold Architects

On Serifos, a Greek island of the Cyclades, Mold Architects have designed three interconnected holiday apartments as an underground retreat.

Located near Vagia, one of the large southern beaches on the island, the 180-m² building is embedded in the landscape in a remarkable way. The traces of a formerly intensive mining industry in the form of large cavities and a subterranean network of tunnels inspired the architects to create a structure consisting of tectonic lines and plates. At the same time, all three volumes of the guest flats are slightly turned away from each other to ensure private areas and enable the best possible view of the Aegean.

Each living unit comprises two bedrooms, a kitchen with a small living area and an indoor bathroom. Conceived as a sequence of spaces, these rooms are arranged around the outdoor areas, which are significantly larger than the enclosed space. The mutual penetration of indoors and outdoors leads to the further interconnectedness of architecture and scenery, rounded out with elements such as patios, swimming pools and landscaped stairs as part of the topographical system.

Mass and cavity

The flat roofs of the holiday apartments become part of the topography as artificial extensions of the downward-sloping terrain. From here, the accommodations are accessed via cut-in, single-flight stairways. The patios, some of which have sunshades, allow additional daylight indoors. Moreover, they enhance the interplay of mass and cavity, thus serving as a further reference to the archaic tunnel architecture in the region.

Holiday apartments as a subterranean retreat. © Panagiotis Voumvakis

The brown shades of the plastered facades are analogous to the architectural concept in that they correspond to the rocky surroundings. Inside, the architects chose a plaster containing an earthy mineral pigment in a grey-brown hue. The built-in cupboards, beds and kitchen counters of white polished concrete meld with the interior walls and contribute to the overall monolithic abstraction.

Bedroom, © Panagiotis Voumvakis

Monochromatic minimalism

Various built-ins of stained pinewood for the cupboards and kitchen counters not only coordinate with the monochromatic minimalism of the other furnishings, but are also in keeping with the gravel and stone surfaces of the patios and swimming pools. However, the most spectacular “material” has to be the rock formations, which work with the abstract geometry of the guest house to form an effective whole.