On the Cycladic island of Kythnos, Greece, Chris & Kathy Saccopoulos have built a unique living space. Its polyhedral building forms and lightweight ferrocement construction are pragmatic responses to the challenges of the site, at the same time preserving the scale, complexity, and visual appeal of a traditional island village.
Building Mikro Horio
Mikro Horio (Greek for the Little Village), built on the Cycladic island of Kythnos, Greece, is the second home of Kathy and Chris Saccopoulos. We are academics, now retired, who taught at American universities. Christos is an architect, and Kathy is a photojournalist. It was built incrementally over a half-century, beginning in 1974.
The Site
In 1972, we purchased Gastromeni, a tract of land on Kythnos on a remote bay with no electricity, no readily accessible water, no roads, and no vegetation beyond thorny scrub.
Christos' work has been recognized with awards from professional organizations:
1987 Iowa AIA Design Award
1996 North Carolina AIA Merit Award
The Architecture
As an architect and an academic, Chris saw our building of a shelter here as an opportunity for innovative research and design. The result of our efforts is a cluster of polyhedral ferrocement structures that push the envelope while retaining the virtues of the vernacular island architecture.
Landscaping
Gastromeni is pure phrygana. We did not want to alter its wild nature overall, but did wish to carve out a garden in contrast and for contemplation. This required defending a "sacred space" (in Mircea Eliade's terminology) from the "formless expanse surrounding it." In other words, we needed fences.
We began the introduction of trees, bushes, vines and flowers as soon as we had enclosed our compound to protect it from marauding goats.
Sustainable Living
Respect for the environment and a desire to maintain our independence were guiding principles as we embarked on carving a home on Gastromeni. We stayed off the grid and made no truck with the ubiquitous plastic water bottles.
Concrete Experimentation
Concrete is both an old and a new building material. It was known to the Romans, then the techniques were lost, only to come back into widespread use in the 20th Century. In the form of ferrocement, we have used it extensively on Gastromeni, as well as employing it unconventionally on doors and ofther projects.