The project involves the restoration of an 1864 stone-built structure located in the traditional settlement of Pines in Elounda, Crete. The village was first inhabited by the Venetians between 1400 and 1550 AD, and a pointed arch inside the building dates back to this period. This arch was discovered in 1864 by Mavrogiorgis Drakonakis, a stock and land farmer (six generations removed from the current owner), who built his house around it. Initially, the structure contained just one room and a courtyard, but it evolved over the years into a house until 1920. Since then, it was left uninhabited and eventually used as a stable for animals.

 

The design strategy is based on the idea of restoring and reusing the building into a holiday house, giving continuity to the history of the building through its functional adaptation and adjustment to the contemporary domestic needs and requirements. In the external envelope, the least possible construction interventions were made, mainly focusing on the restoration and reinforcement of the stone masonry and the reconstruction of the parts that had collapsed. The main intervention implemented on the outer shell of the building aims at introducing light and fresh air in the core of the house and creating exterior sitting areas on the terrace. The new additions to the body of the building are discreetly marked and constructed using lightweight metal structures which can allow a clear distinction of the new object from the existing structures and, at the same time, the reversibility of the operation.

 

In the interior space, the Venetian arch holds a central position, being preserved entirely intact with the wear and patina of time imprinted on it, around which the two-room residence is developed and organized. The interior walls, where it was deemed necessary, are covered with hydraulic plaster, to ensure the air permeability of the building. Following the same strategy on the outer structure, the signs of modernity arise punctually and naturally due to the inevitable functional readjustment. However, the project does not pursue to omit but rather to highlight these gestures as part of the historical continuity of the building. The suspended metal staircase leading to the terrace consists the maximum exponent of this intention, both for the sculptural and material quality and the interesting contrast of the delicate metal structure with the density of the adjacent stone walls. Although the new interventions are emphasized by the contrast, an intentional deterioration (oxidized metal) and conscious imperfection (interior wall plaster) are chosen in their construction materials bringing the whole into balance. Preserving the old and reviving it, the building is enriched with new elements, turning it into a modern holiday residence.