The Architecture
Mikro Horio
2001-present day
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(Explanation of the orientation of the site plan)
The compound defined by the hard edges of fence walls is relatively small: about 700 sq. meters. The total footprint of the buildings is only 140 sq. meters. Yet, several visitors have commented on its resemblance to a village, and one local friend has dubbed it the "Mikro Horio" — which means small village in Greek.
We immediately adopted the name, because it reflects our approach of looking for architectural guidance and inspiration to the Cycladic village as a whole, rather than at individual buildings.
For Christos, it is a measure of success that Kythniot friends, who have no training in architectural appreciation, have readily seen in our compound qualities that qualify it as a village — despite the hitherto-never-encountered polyhedra forms.
The distribution of enclosed space among four buildings rather than a single large one is the first element that imparts the impression of a hamlet. Equally important are the sense of human scale and complexity, two qualities that permeate the island's traditional villages.
These village qualities are difficult to emulate in the small, free-standing vacation houses which began to be built in the mid-seventies. Buildings of that period profess their allegiance to "traditional" architecture through the incorporation of such iconic elements as decorative triangular parapet openings (adopted from dove cotes) and the beveled corners of roof parapets (dubbed "horns" by an architectural critic). The term "traditional" has paradoxically, acquired a generic meaning that is in fact divorced from local practice — for example, the arched openings of facades were not used on the exterior of domestic village houses, occurring only on church facades.
In fairness, more recent buildings exhibit a much better sense of scale, their volumes being broken down and the size of their openings limited by new building code regulations. In 1974, however, at the time of our search for architectural direction, the early examples of the emerging "neo-traditional" style served as cautionary tales for the superficiality of that approach, and steered us toward scale and complexity as formal elements worth striving for.
These two essential elements are evident in Mikro Horio in the geometry of the structures and in the treatment of exterior spaces.
The geometry of the small rhombicuboctahedron provides the formal syntax for the buildings, whose envelope exhibits permutations and combinations of similar planes, without rubber-stamp repetitions. There are no large expanses of exterior walls. Secondary themes include: gables, of different size and orientation, on all buildings; triangular windows at the apex of the gables; and triangular vents, located to carry out rising hot air, protected from rain by tetrahedral "beaks." All windows are small and of varying proportions. The view from doors and windows often includes other buildings of the compound, adding to the sense of a village.
In Mikro Horio, affinity with the Cycladic village is further reinforced by the choice of color. We adopted white for walls and roofs without much deliberation: in addition to the cultural connection, white contributes to cooler interiors. Doors and windows are painted either the dark blue often encountered in the Aegean, or a complimentary burnt orange. White, used with only minor exceptions on all surfaces enclosing interior space, also lends unity to the hamlet.
The Enclosure: The fences/walls defining Mikro Horio evolved over time, serving from the outset two goals: to protect plant material from goats and to define the boundary between phrygana and "civilized" ("sacred" in the philosopher Mircea Eliade's terminology) space. The walls define an irregular perimeter, in character with the visual language of the enclosed space and buildings.
We thought we had built them high enough to exclude goats, but the most determined and agile of the critters proved us wrong, and thus, we had to add wire mesh extensions to the tops of the walls in vulnerable places. The wire has since rusted and is nearly invisible.
The compound is entered either from the west, through a wrought iron gate that opens to a path to the sea, or from the east, through a ferrocement gate that opens to steps leading up to the driveway. We still think of the west gate as the "front" gate, since access to the site in our early days was by boat, and we refer to the east gate as the "back" gate, even though we now arrive by car.
Outdoor Work Areas: Mikro Horio includes three outdoor work areas. Next to the east gate is Kathy's potting bench. Behind the shower tower of GBB III, partially hidden behind one-meter-high walls, are the compost bins, mainly Christos' responsibility. This is also the "messy" outdoor area, where the fuel tank is located and the concrete mixer is stored.
Next to the east gate is Kathy's potting bench.
Behind the shower tower of GBB III, partially hidden behind one-meter-high walls, are the compost bins, mainly Christos' responsibility. This is also the "messy" outdoor area, where the fuel tank is located and the concrete mixer is stored.
Between GBB I and GBB IV is our outdoor cooking area, which Christos calls the Court of Earth, Air, Fire and Water: "Earth" for the wood-heated oven; "Air" for Aeolus' Balls, the sculpture suspended over the courtyard from the gable of GBB IV; "Fire" for the barbeque pit, large enough to spit a whole goat; and "Water" for a faucet and basin.
The Court of Earth, Air, Fire and Water is, in fact, the stone-paved area we excavated and levelled in 1974, during our first days of camping on the land.
The barbeque pit, wood-burning oven and sink are situated on a U-shaped counter, beneath which we store firewood and charcoal. The barbeque spit is protected by a stainless steel awning, shaped into a vault by tension rods and turnbuckles. "Air" initially referred to this awning, which Christos was not sure could withstand the gale-force winds which can pummel the area.
Terraces and Service Elements: Planting beds, mostly defined by concrete block walls, plastered over, are distributed among the buildings and the paved paths. Most of these terraces emerged as convenient ways to ascend the terrain and provide flat surfaces suitable for planting trees, bushes and flowering plants.
The planting terraces inside the east enclosing wall, in addition to climbing the terrain, were designed to relate to the shower tower. The walls separating the terraces from each other radiate from the center of the octagonal tower.
Scattered within the compound are utilitarian components that contribute to its electrical, plumbing and communication services. These include the photovoltaic panels; the solar water heaters; various faucets; a cubicle housing the pressure pump (essential to the operation of the automatic drip system); a sump with a pump in it that directs rainwater collected from the S.E. quadrant of the compound to the rainwater cistern in the ravine; and two satellite dishes, one for television and the other for internet connection.
Outdoor Circulation and Sitting: The spaces among and around buildings comprise several small elements, and the resultant textural quality reinforces the sense of scale and complexity imparted by the buildings.
Concrete-paved walkways, steps and a ramp wind around and among the buildings, some along contour lines, others perpendicular to them. Off these paths are sitting areas furnished with table and chairs, at least one of which is in shade at any given time. Tables are invariably round, a shape best accommodated in the irregularly-shaped spaces they occupy. Prime among these sitting areas is the patio flanked by GBB I and GBB II, which faces the sea and the setting sun, and where lunch, ouzo/hors d'oeuvres and dinner are often served.
In several places, sitting areas and walkways are spanned by cables, attached to 1-inch galvanized pipes, which support grape vines or bougainvilleas, providing much-needed shade in the summer.
The ramp raps around the side and back of GBB III
This small courtyard is shaded by a bougainvillea vine.
The front patio with a gazebo for shade.
Our Village Square
All traditional villages in Greece have a village square, a central space where people gather for outdoor meals, for coffees and for gossip. The equivalent space at Mikro Horio is the front patio, located between GBB I and GBB II, facing the sea and the sunset.
This patio's first incarnation was simply the top of the first cistern we built to provide us with a supply of clean, drinkable water.
We erected poles and crossbars, with cable stretched across, and attempted to cover the patio with grape vines.
As the vines proved to provide unsatisfactory shade, we erected a beach umbrella.
The dimensions of this first patio were constrained and contorted by our lack of tools, time, and manpower to extend the cistern out over the steep slope of the ravine. In 2013, having the time and money to hire a crew of workers, we decided to remedy this by building a storeroom on the ravine side and extending the patio dimensions. We also erected a gazebo to provide better, more durable shade for our outdoor dining room, cocktail lounge, and sunset-viewing platform.
Phase I: extending the patio over the ravine.
Phase II: erecting the gazebo and covering it with canvas panels.
Phase III: Plastering and finishing the surfaces, as well as building a bench.
Phase IV: Finishing stonework, sunset platform, and steps around patio.
The canvas panels provided excellent shade for a number of years, but eventually the stress of the often gale-force winds took a toll, particularly on the rope lacing the panels to the poles. So, in 2022, we replaced them with panels of marine-quality plywood secured with galvanizes stainless steei clamps—first painting the poles an bright red.
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