Cycladic Architecture And Sustainable Development

By Maria Tziakou

The traditional architecture of Cyclades, Greece is a characteristic example of sustainable design. It consists of a series of passive design that aim to maximize the comfort of the build environment., while they succeed in adjusting to climate.

The Cycladic house is built in order to cover the basic daily needs in accordance with the environmental conditions of each island.

The climate in general can be described as Mediterranean and it is moderate, coastal with dry, sunny and high temperatures and intense radiation from the sun in summers and mild, damp winters. The Cycladic islands are known for the strong winds with direction mainly from south, which are dry and hot, and from north which are dry and cold. Traditional architecture aimed at managing the diversity of winds, either by bringing the pleasant summer breeze in the house with cross openings or by preventing the harsh and cold winter wind with the use of high walls and trees.

The stiff landscape had a dominant role in the formation of the characteristic Cycladic style. The villages had to adjust to the, often unfriendly, terrain and at the same time take advantage of the available scarce resources.

Materials The limited presence of wood and the difficulty of transferring materials from other places was also a decisive factor in the formation of the traditional methods of construction. The scarcity of resources would not allow the beams to be more than 3 meters, limiting in this way the structures to only one floor. In cases that the houses needed another floor, they were using the topography to gain height.

The structures consisted mainly from stone that was very common material in area. The stone was covered with lime that provided the structures the characteristic white color that dominates in Cycladic architecture. This technique was used to protect the stone and protect the houses from the strong sunlight as the white color is known to reduce the sunrays absorption, especially during the summer months.

CYCLADIC Architecture AndSUSTAINABLE Development

Orientation andInsulation

Southwest orientation was common to the residences to attract natural sunlight. The walls were usually 60-80cm thick which had enough thermal mass to keep the desirable indoor temperature steady both during the summer and the winter. Small openings on the northern side of the houses helped to keep the temperature cool in the summer by leading through the house the northern winds (meltemia) , common in Cyclades islands, especially during summer.

The fact that many houses were built entirely or partly underground also helped, along with the thick walls, in insulating the house and providing the indoors with a steady temperature all through the year.

The lack of greenery in most of the islands along with the need for protection from high temperatures developed the need to the inhabitants to protect the scarce vegetation. This led to the creation of small courtyards that were shaped between the houses because of the high concertation of them in one area, creating evaporative cooling and protection from direct sun especially in summer time.

CycladicArchitecture Now

The Cyclades the recent years have been a very popular vacation destination, creating a specific seasonal lifestyle and emerging new needs. This has redirected the use of traditional buildings from serving local needs to the covering of needs of a larger and more diverse sum of inhabitants. Comfort, relaxation and recreation are the main things the tourists sick when they visit a Cycladic island. Also, with the progress of technology new materials are easier to be found, so the design stops to be limited mainly to the local sources. All these changes have also affected the way that sustainable design can be re-evaluated in these areas.

The topography and climate that acts as restriction is today an inspiration to many contemporary architects. Some of them appreciate the value of traditional architecture as a source of methods of sustainable design that are already historically tested to the specific place and that are proven to respond to local conditions.

Aloni, decaArchitecture Architects: decaArchitecture Area: 237.0 m² Year: 2008 Location: Antiparos, Greece

One such example is ‘Aloni’, designed by decaArchitecture. The design of the house incorporates the landscape and local materials such as earth-retaining stone with the luxury of a new domestic space.

The architects describe the house as a structure that is ‘curved into the flowing landscape’:

“The presence ofthe house is revealed by the four courtyards carved into the flowing landscape. The courtyards separate the living spaces into five interior areas, an arrangement which resembles the fifth side of a dice. As a result, the house is protected from the elements yet is full of natural light, generous views and relationship to its setting” a compact but rich

The house merges with the landscape, creating a unique relation with its surroundings. even though its design doesn’t remind formally the traditional white Cycladic houses the architects took into account original traditional elements for the creation of the house such as the materials and the topography.

Aloni , decaArchitecture

An element that relates the project with the traditional local architecture is the shape of the house and the arrangement of the separate spaces, as can be seen on the plan. The traditional houses used to divide the house into separate parts in order to arrange easier according to the topography and this quality it can be seen in the Aloni house.

Also, the courtyards that were created by letting the topography flow within the house, are used as main part of the design in the residence. The intertwining of the columns of the house with the landscape resulting in the effect of a structure that becomes part of the landscape is also a characteristic of the traditional Cycladic architecture.

Hug House, React Architects Architects: React Architects Area: 150 m²

Year: 2016 Location: Paros, Greece

A different approach to traditional Cycladic architecture is the Hug House by React Architects. The house is a complex of two buildings protected by a masonry wall that wraps around them. The separate buildings host living spaces and share a courtyard and the pool within the surrounding was.

About the design the architects argue:

“The stone walls encircle and ‘hug’ the building, protecting it from prying eyes. In some places, the walls become a building, and in others, courtyards are created, adapted to the ground and to the environment.”

The exterior wall that protects the life within is a common traditional method of protection of houses, but also of other resources necessary for sustaining life in the islands, such as the productive trees. The entrance is on the western side of the site, at its highest point, and has been inserted between the masonry buttressing walls. The courtyard at the rear, protected from the strong winds, organizes the functions by creating a nucleus with direct reference to the building masses. Such arrangement is encountered in the monasteries of the area, with the cells on the perimeter and the church in the center. Both houses seem to share common strategies even if it is not obvious through the design, the similarities can be observed to the way they work with sustainability. The use of local material, the way that the structure is blending with the landscape, but also the inspiration and the use of traditional elements. In Aloni from decoArchitects it can be observed the notion of courtyard, that in traditional houses where shaped organically through the arrangement in space. In both examples can be seen the way the space is organized to adapt to the stiff landscape. In the Hug House, from React Architects the use of the white color in the exterior in combination with the stone, and the courtyard between the structures they are one of the characteristics of traditional Cycladic design. Those are an example of how the sustainable methods of design in traditional architecture can be a source of inspiration for contemporary architecture and many different architectural

expressions

References:

Philippidis D., 1999. Greek Traditional Architecture Aegean: Cyclades

Sinou, M. , 2006. "From the traditional to the contemporary Cycladic sustainable house", Management of Environmental Quality

Stasinopoulos Thanos N.,2006. “The Four Elements of Santorini Architecture Lessons in Vernacular Sustainability”, The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva, Switzerland

https://www.archdaily.com/45925/aloni-decaarchitecture

https://www.archdaily.com/889427/hug-house-react-architects