Parallel House: The Interpretation of Traditional Stone Houses Function

Enjoying summer in nature and open landscapes is the goal of one of the en-route-architect's clients. Then they decided on a location that was considered suitable for building a summer house, namely the Cycladic Island in Greece. Unfortunately, the site's location is not on the beach but in a hill valley that does not have direct access to the beach on foot.

A drone view from a Parallel House shows the topography it occupies

Side view of Parallel House, large windows leading to an open panorama

In designing this house, the en-route architect was led by the great topographic changes in the surrounding landscape. Standing on a hillside, the Parallel House's built flush with the sea view, so residents can see the panoramic view of the sea without worrying about being blocked by other objects. The volume placement arranged parallel to the sea is to create a cinematic frame of the Aegean sea and neighboring islands around the Cycladic.

The field next to the house for playing and relaxing area

This house is called Parallel House, not without reason. This name takes from the space program in the house, arranging each room next to each other and parallel. So, all the house's supporting functions are placed along the back wall, avoiding obstacles to their activity, mobility, and views at the front.

Windows stretch out at the front of the house to enjoy the sea and sky views

The typography is the challenge for en-route-architect in designing and building a house on a hillside like this. With its steep topography, the rear of Parallel House looks like it is embedded in the landscape, while the front exposes it to wide views.

The harmonization of exposed concrete and bright green enliven the holiday atmosphere

As a summer house, the space functions are not much different from the house in usual, so the material used emphasizes the character of "easy maintenance." However, looking back at the site's location, the en-route architect decided to use exposed concrete as a structural and visual framework that interprets a traditional stone house. This traditional building reinterpretation technique is packaged stylishly and still incorporates the advantages of a stone house, namely the integration of active and passive approaches to regulating the heat and cold of the room as well as generating energy.

The selected furniture matches the exposed concrete color, bringing the room to life

Thus, such techniques enable a high degree of energy efficiency and independence. The hidden corridor behind the house catches the prevailing breeze, allows cross ventilation, and keeps the house cool all year round. The roof of the house collects rainwater in submerged tanks which can later be reused after being filtered. The solar panels hidden in the landscape produce enough energy to keep the house burning.

The dining room with wide windows and contrasting orange table

Parallel House was built as a strong contrast yet minimalist to the surrounding landscape. Through contrast and embedding hidden principles, the house's focus is placed on the full experience of the landscape itself.

Minimalist bedroom with a bed facing the view