ARCHITECTURE: An island retreat by Kokosalaki Architecture interprets Cretan vernacular design

ARCHITECTURE | 27 FEB 2020 | BY ELLIE STATHAKI

An island retreat by Kokosalaki

Architecture interprets Cretan
vernacular design
This ‘simple, distinguished and very proud’ house in the Cretan mountains is a
Greek holiday home rooted in its context and designed by the Athens based
architecture studio of Natalia Kokosalaki

This newly completed holiday home in Crete is nestled within mature olive groves. Photography: George Messaritakis

W
hen a French couple decided to build their holiday home in Crete,
some 500 metres from the village of Roustika, they turned to Athens
based architect Natalia Kokosalaki for help.

Sat at the foot of the Lefka Ori Mountains, among idyllic olive groves, vineyards and
herb bushes, the site had a lot to offer. Part of the clients’ brief was for the design to
respect this Cretan environment and ‘stand the test of time’, explains the architect.
Kokosalaki responded with flair, composing a complex that feels modern, but is also
rooted to the local vernacular and the island’s tradition.

‘At first we wrote a brief as if it was a first page of a summer novel, narrating a
summer day in this imaginary Cretan house and its rural environment,’ she says.
‘Simultaneously, it describes different areas of the house and the surrounding large
garden and how could be enjoyed by the inhabitants on different hours of the day.’

A large arched entrance leads to an enclosed courtyard, in turn guiding the visitor to
the generous, open plan living areas on the ground level – or a guest suite off the
main house. Upstairs are a further four bedrooms.

Thick stone walls transform into staircases, terraces, an outdoor shower area and
seating, while clean overall lines and the use of local materials (such as stone and
ochre plaster) enhance the house’s connection to the landscape around it. This was
conceived as a calming, tactile environment, designed for rest and contemplation.

‘We wanted to create a typically Cretan dwelling: simple, distinguished and very
proud,’ says Kokosalaki. The house does not disappoint; it is a structure that feels
contemporary but is also inherently of its place, nestled gently in its Greek
countryside locale. §

INFORMATION
nataliakokosalaki.gr

RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE HOUSES GREEK ARCHITECTURE

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