DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
IP : The idea was based on the division of the building volumes and its opening to the sea, in a way determined by the natural lines of the ground, without the absolute correlation of the construction corners, creating a complex polygon in plan view. The layout of the building volumes seems random, but it is not. They are placed so that each area of the house has an unobstructed view of the sea from wherever the observer stand.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
IP : The main goal was to create a holiday home with a strong extroversion and a relatively low budget on a plot with a steep slope. So the architectural design had to focus on the correct placement of the building on the plot in such a way as to allow its users to relax enjoying the unobstructed view of the open horizon and at the same time to design the open spaces around the house in a way that do not increase the construction budget.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
IP : This concept was assigned to our architectural office by a family of Belgians who especially love Greece and the beauties of the place, who had confidence and supported our design concept for their new home, since the design comprehensively met their needs.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
IP : The project was constructed between the years 2018-2020 by the construction company EKFRASI LTD on behalf of the property owners.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
IP : The challenges of such a project have given impetus to design. The difficulties of the geomorphology of the area in combination with the intense tourist rhythms of the island of Skiathos and the desire of the users to create a place of relaxation gave us the motivation. The need of the owners to have a house in Greece mobilized our design tools, so that they have the best possible result.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
IP : The name polygonal house was given by the polygonal structure that exists both in the floor plan of the house and in its volumes. The specific structure results from the orientation and extroversion of the house towards the sea and the open horizon, in combination with the structure of the necessary functions of the building program and the morphology of the soil.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
IP : All the collaborators who contributed to the creation of the design proposal had a decisive role. Both the 3D artists and the static and mechanical engineers contributed in their turn to the completion of the design idea. The company that undertook the construction of the building collaborated with many teams in the various construction stages
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
IP : The research of the design solution was based on the geomorphology of the area and the natural relief. The natural features of the place and the anthropomorphology defined the design goals. These are the need for the continuous visual contact of the users of the building with the environment, as well as the oncoplastic harmonization of the building with the intense tourist rhythms of the island. The method followed includes the mapping of the terrain, and the users needs through interviews.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
IP : The house has been built on the island of Skiathos in Greece, at Profitis Ilias on a plot with a large inclination slope located 350.00m above sea level. It is in the limited zone allowed by law and within this zone in the smoothest part as possible. The difficulty concerned the placement of the house on a sloping plot at the same time as the desire of the owners to have a unobstructed view and low cost budget construction. During the construction of the project, a special challenge was the difficulty in the project management when you build on an island and on a mountain in parallel in combination with the weather conditions.
