Year:
2023
Type:
Residential
Status:
Detail Study
Size:
600 sqm
“All the ground was covered with grass of a wintry brown and out of it grew clumps of bushes which were surely rosebushes. There were numbers of standard roses which had so spread their branches that they were like little trees. There were other trees in the garden, and one of the things which made the place look strangest and loveliest was that climbing roses had run all over them and swung down long tendrils which made light swaying curtains, and here and there they had caught at each other or at a far-reaching branch and had crept from one tree to another and made lovely bridges of themselves. It was this hazy tangle from tree to tree which made it all look so mysterious.”
In this overgrown garden of the soon to be demolished 80’s derelict residence at Esperou Street in Kifisia, so reminiscent of the secret garden in the novel by Frances Burnett Pieris.Architects design the new home of a five-member family. The proposed concept is based on the conversion of the existing garden into a residence that aims to maintain the fairy atmosphere of overgrown pine trees and offer its residents a refined eco conscious lifestyle in nature.
Upon entering the house, consecutive sliding glass doors retract to ultimately reveal the hidden garden at the rear of the house. From every living space the eye can move around through the central atrium’s semi see-through foliage of greenery at the heart of the building to find the linear pavilion that rests serenely towards the far end of the garden. The pavilion itself is a flexible sleeping/living room arrangement that establishes a dialogue between its volume and the central building inviting residents to enjoy life deeper into the garden.
Throughout the residence, interiors of muted greens, watered-down greys, pale ochres and delicate eggshell tones create a hybrid aesthetic of Japanese and Scandinavian design elements so characteristic of Pieris.Architects’ residential projects. The end result is the natural marriage between two cultures that privilege minimalism and tranquility, and their differences also complement each other.