On the Greek island of Karpathos, OOAK Architects built a house for a couple of surfers that demonstrates how nature and architecture can coexist peacefully. The Patio House was built using a small natural highland, but since the structure does not rest completely on the rocky surface, the house seems to be always in the balance, as if it were about to dive into the sea below.
The building was conceived as an enormous cubic volume set in the nature that is divided between closed and open spaces. The former are those closest to the rock, while the latter are those “suspended in the void”, with a sea view.
The Patio House has been deliberately left bare, with exposed reinforced concrete, as if it were incomplete, so as to minimize the visual contrast with the surrounding nature. In fact, looking from the sea, the house seems to disappear into the landscape.
The team from OOAK Architects has succeeded in constructing a building that still manages to convey the sensation of living in the midst of nature and that, despite its geometric form, hides between the sinuous and irregular lines of the rock.
