Piperi House Kythnos
Sigurd Larsen
Discovering Athens through documenta 14, Architect Sigurd Larsen who was born on an island in Denmark, immediately felt drawn to the Greek islands, returned the following year and fell for a plot of land on the Cycladic Island of Kythnos. The area around Berlin, where Larsen is based, kept getting more expensive and seeking to build a summer house with a degree of experimental freedom, the coastal grounds on the rough and secluded island were the perfect fit.
Embedded into the wild hillside landscape of sunburnt flora in brownish-greens, four recumbent cubical volumes on different heights, overlook the sea with a 200-degree view. Zoning Laws do not permit two stories to be built on top of each other, and thus the monolithic cubes work their way down the mountainside like a village, some cubes cleverly blocking the view of neighbouring houses. The different volumes and levels are interconnected with stairs, moving up- and downhill and leading to the three terraces, all facing the open ocean.
Beside the terraces, the dining table and sofa, all three bedrooms, and even the bathtub are facing this scenic view. The windows perfectly frame the uninhabited Island Piperi, the eponym of Piperi House. Larsen vigorously monitored the exact orientation of the house towards the island during construction. The idea of framing the view was informed by Villa Malaparte on Capri, sitting on and almost sinking into the gigantic bedrock Punta del Massullo. Villa Malaparte’s remarkably small windows single out excerpts of the surrounding nature, which appear as if painted and framed accordingly.
Architecture and Object
© Sigurd Larsen
“The stone is used everywhere on the island, in the villages, and their alleys. Its rusty qualities are the perfect match for the bronze doorhandles. The salty, humid air will encourage their patina and have them age beautifully. The idea is to work with the elements, instead of against them.”
- Sigurd Larsen
Visiting villages, churches, and monasteries to study Cycladic vernacular architecture, not only the principles of white cubical structures with small windows were apparent but also the almost excessive use of stairs. And while the Cycladic Islands have some of the toughest Zoning Laws within Europe – the proportions of windows for example are strongly regulated, and doors cannot be sliding but have to be opened towards the inside, their wooden shutters towards the outside – there are surprisingly no regulations around staircases.
Accentuating the rule of the continuous 90-degree angle, the steps of the stairs outside are mirrored in the inside of the house. The rooms inside the house are connected through a circuit of stairs which overlaps with a circuit outside, that connects the main terraces. Both circuits interconnect, so that one could walk endlessly through both the in- and the outside, and through all four levels of the house.
Decisively structuring the floorplan, the stairs become somewhat of an architectural leitmotiv for Piperi House – Larsen references Maurits Cornelis Escher as an inspiration. But whereas Escher’s stairs are impossible in perspective, Larsen translates the motif to the continuous movement through the space, encouraging one to explore all angles of the house during all possible times of the day.
Working with the migration of daylight through spaces, was first informed by Larsens affinity for Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who planned his iconic Mallorca homes Can Lis and Can Feliz, with the passage of sunlight. When the evening sun illuminates the Piperi House kitchen, you have to start cooking, if you want to have dinner with sunset, Larsen says.
Piperi House is naturally ventilated through high windows that provide a constant breeze, and through every room having one screen door or window, which can be open at any time. The skylights furthermore shed accents of warm sunlight onto the white walls and into the minimalist yet snugly decorated space.
The dark and natural stone used for the mosaic floor and the outside terraces and stairs, is sourced on Kythnos and doesn’t overheat in the sun, so that one can walk barefoot on it. It features layers of iron, which, if you cut the stone one direction appear blueish, and cut the other direction appears brownish.
Photos © Ana Santl
The doorhandles, FSB 1267 inspired by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, come in a dark patinated bronze and will oxidate due to the high humidity, perfectly matching the vivid layers of iron in the floor. Instead of constantly fighting the elements, you come to work with them, says the architect.
The Cycladic islands are known for its rough, rocky landscape with mostly bushes and only few trees. In winter, Kythnos is lush and green, full of colourful flowers and scents, in the summer it burns off, transitioning into hues of yellow and sage green. The beautifully melancholic atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of the pictures of Leonard Cohen living on Hydra in the 1960s, says Larsen.
In comparison to current day Hydra however, Kythnos still offers enough space for you to find one of the many beaches to have entirely to yourself.
A small guest house with an outdoor kitchen and a pergola, typical for Greek houses, are currently built into an existing stone barn close to the house. They foreground what’s already inherent to Piperi House – nothing here is not directly affected by nature. A set of stairs invites you to climb up Piperi House’s two accessible rooftops.
Being exposed to the stout winds and hot sun one realizes, how cleverly Larsen staggered the cubes for one to always find refuge in the still air and shade on some terrace downstairs. Having access to the two rooftop terraces, and having naturally walked and effectively used every nook and cranny of the building, leaves you with the rare and sanguine sentiment of having fully understood and effectively lived with Piperi House.
