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P R O F I L E
runs lengthwise across the edge of house
and wraps one corner in a swift, razor-sharp
turn. "Since the Cretan climate promotes
outdoor living," Stathopoulos explains, "a
large part of the house is dedicated to the
outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces in an open
layout." Exaggerated walls of glass are used to
create a dramatic outdoor transition, availing
the interior of panoramas in perpetuity, with
elaborate overhangs providing shelter and
discretion. Striving for discovery through
a series of reveals, the interior approaches
space as sanctuary, with each room a safe
harbor, a stop of time, an interlude with
immensity. It is an arrangement made all the
more breath-taking for its strategically placed
liberations. In the inhabitants' search for light,
there is freedom. The underground house
ultimately lives en plein air.
At its core, the concept is an interaction
between site and surround, shadows and light,
the built environment and the natural world.
It also addresses the core challenge of the
architect, which is, as Stathopoulos defines it,
"to design a residence that combines reason
and dream." A residence, he argues, "must
possess the functional character according
to the rules of building and bioclimatic design,
but at the same time must be able to speak
to the human soul." Casa Katana is intensely
sympathetic to this idea, an expression
of living in appreciation of an elegant and
immense beauty. But what are words when
such an architecture leaves one speechless.
@krakarchitects | krak.gr
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