![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/S3kR8hy\/A.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPreserving the diversity of use and the productivity of the land means a continuing commitment and exchange with the local community and its economy beyond the limited time frame of the holiday seasons. It is a model for the symbiotic existence of the traditional living and productive landscape and the needs and idiosyncratic characteristics of the contemporary \u2018leisure culture\u2019.\u201d DECA Architecture<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hourglass corral is the latest addition to an evolving series of residences completed By DECA Architecture on the Greek island of Milos, all of them revealing a sensitive and sustained attention to the landscape and the local tradition. The project was nominated for the european union prize for contemporary architecture \u2013 mies van der rohe award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DECA Architecture recently completed Hourglass Corral, a house in the Southern part of the Greek island of Milos that is intrinsically moulded by the natural conditions of its site. Sunk low and stoic in the sun-drenched Cycladic landscape cooled by breezes from the nearby sea, it accommodates 4 bedrooms that all face South, the roof planted with a variety of aromatic plants. Forming part of the Voronoi\u2019s Corrals, a larger territory the architects have been designing for the last ten years, the house is intended to generate a reciprocity between architecture and nature, geometrical rules and wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The place<\/strong> Alexandros Vaitsos and Carlos Loperena, the two founding partners at DECA Architecture, scouted and studied the landscape for months, carefully assessing the qualities of each corner of the expansive territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe tried to decipher the feelings that we experienced at each location, the aura, the vibe, the genius loci of each place. We mapped the views, the movement of the wind in relation to the topography, the orientation of the sun and the shade in relation to the slopes, the distribution of the flora and the varying geological characteristics throughout the landscape.\u201d Alexandros Vaitsos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through this investigation, that was both visceral and analytical, they identified five locations that were ideally suited to host their corrals. They were former agricultural pockets, where the impact of architecture would be controlled, that had an enticing variety of strong experiential qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe gained a very thorough understanding of the site and the island: we commissioned from a botanist a study of the biodiversity of the flora from the site, we researched the history, economy and population data of the island, we studied the behavior of the wind and geology of the area. Our goal was to approach the project so that it truly belonged to the place,\u201d says Carlos Loperena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project, that was completed in two stages in the span of eight years, lies somewhere between the practice of architecture and landscape architecture. After the Immersion Corral (built in 2012), a small two-bedroom house located at the most dramatic location of the site, the Orchard Corral was completed in 2013, meant to preserve the agricultural nature of the 20.000 square meter property. DECA established the largest olive grove on the island here. The Preservation Corral, that contains a grove of fruit trees that are unique to the island and are nearly extinct, and the small Isolation Corral, entirely built by hand to preserve the surrounding nature, followed in the next years. The Hourglass Corral is the latest corral to be designed and constructed, nestled within a plateau just above the Orchard Corral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Voronoi diagram<\/strong> \u201cVoronoi gave us the opportunity to design in a different way. We went on site and we scouted for special locations: \u2018Wouldn\u2019t it be nice to have a table here? What a nice place for a tree! I would really like to wake up at this spot!\u2019 We determined the points that interested us. We input these points into Voronoi\u2019s formula and a grid was formulated around them. The grid became our plan,\u201d says Alexandros Vaitsos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Voronoi grids, as opposed to Cartesian ones, the points come first and the grid follows. The grid is organic, not orthogonal. It conforms to the points. It does not impose itself, it is imposed by circumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe used parametric design tools. Instead of drawing lines, we refined our plans by moving points in space. Voronoi\u2019s formula ensured that each table, bed or tree enjoyed the most amount of space in relation to its neighboring areas.\u201d Carlos Loperena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The meeting of a mathematical approach to architecture and the idea of going \u2018back to nature\u2019 may seem contradictory, but was masterfully materialized in the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept for the Hourglass Corral<\/strong> From the interior the ceilings of each cell folds upwards towards its center point where the ceiling is pierced by a circular skylight. This creates an organic, flowing interior roof-scape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the Hourglass Corral we took the challenge to work rigorously with the Voronoi diagram logic. We composed the architecture through parametric design creating each individual cell according to the views and the spatial needs.\u201d Alexandros Vaitsos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This spatial definition is emphasized through functional details such as operable skylights that allow for passive ventilation, custom fabricated pendant lights, the expansion joints of the concrete floors and mechanical diaphragms that control the amount of daylight in the bedrooms. More importantly, the organization of the Voronoi cells works to make an environment which creates encounters, making it the social nexus of the entire project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The exteriors<\/strong> Each cell of the Corral is planted with a different type of aromatic plant, used for the extraction of essential oils, insulating the roofs and resulting in a pattern that gives a vivid representation of the underlying design strategy while at the same time making the residential volumes blend into its landscape. From above, the main indicator of inhabitation comes from the circular skylights that mark the point which generate each Voronoi cell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When night falls, the absence of light pollution makes the sky look spectacular, the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon. The sound of the nearby sea and fresh smell of its water reaches the house, making its presence felt. Dwellers can appreciate the natural haven they are living in, with its minimal disruption to the native landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The interiors<\/strong> Moving inside the carapace of the house, the smooth candid white vertical surfaces, washed by the zenithal light, contrast with the ponderous expression of the exterior enclosure. The rooms witness the passing of time, the moving of shadows and the changing colors of light bouncing off walls and floors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The progression to the house evokes a sense of ritual: a generous outdoor space, reached through a narrow stone passageway that funnels into a staircase, informs an enticing geometry of levelchanges and oblique views into the common areas of the kitchen, living and dining areas. It\u2019s a courtyard in the traditional sense, referencing the early Roman impluvium and Greek patio: a communal space at the center of the home, sheltered by enclosing walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three bedrooms in the main house, each with its own private bathroom, are more intimate. A fourth bedroom is located to the north-eastern part of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ceiling flows and, with its light undulations and punctures, gently accompanies the inhabitants through the rooms. The skylights at the apex of each cell open up creating an effective passive ventilation system, warm air traveling up towards the cones and the circular skylights and bursting out in the summer months. In the bedrooms, a black out device, controlled by a switch near the bed, is placed under each skylight. It is a mechanism that works like the shutter of a camera lens. For ambient illumination, a circular metal disc suspended under the apex conceals a linear light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project\u2019s impact<\/strong> It was also an opportunity for them to further investigate and in some way inform, starting in Milos, the dynamics of development in island communities, often overwhelmingly influenced and threatened by mass tourism. Alexandros and Carlos explored architectural propositions that are deeply integrated in the environment which they occupy, engaging in projects that, starting with the Immersion Corral in 2012 and culminating in the Hourglass Corral, encompassed larger areas on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaintaining the productive character of the land has fostered very profound relationships with the local community as well as being a source of pride and delight.\u201d Carlos Loperena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their passionate engagement in the project aims to ward off the deleterious consequences of tourism-driven overdevelopment, similar to the one suffered in the 1990s by the Spanish coastline that quickly reached a point of exhaustion. The Voronoi\u2019s Corrals, developed in the course of the last 10 years and covering larger areas while always at one with their natural setting, make them influential precedents that should trigger a change in the laws that govern construction on the islands. Places to be preserved, where nature asserts itself around and above architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe next step will be creating the Solar Corral. The idea of maintaining the productivity of the land as a sensible and mindful development in the islands is that we can harvest not only agricultural products but we are also in an ideal environment to also harvest solar energy for both the domestic use as well as contributing energy to the local grid.\u201d Carlos Loperena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other images can be seen in the gallery down below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/xHMBmBz\/B.jpg\")
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Voronoi\u2019s Corrals is a landscape in Southern Milos with a total area of 90.000 square meters where DECA Architecture has inserted 5 corrals. The outlines of the corrals, that have existed on the Greek islands for centuries as informal and empirical ways of zoning, define clear boundaries between areas of wilderness and new residential and productive agricultural land for their mutual protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/Tcv62nt\/D.jpg\")
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\u201cEach corral is completely unique, taking cues from the location where it is integrated. What they share in common is an evolving experimentation with the geometrical grids that were defined by a Russian mathematician called Georgy Voronoi and a perverse obsession with materiality and details,\u201d explains Carlos Loperena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/PcTPzYJ\/F.jpg\")
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Georgy Voronoi was a Russian mathematician noted for defining the Voronoi diagram, a mathematical construct that partitions a plane into regions based on the distance to points in the specific subset (or cells) of that plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/cNRhv87\/G.jpg\")
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The Hourglass is the largest domestic environment within the broader landscape of Voronoi\u2019s Corrals. Its organization is derived from a parametric manipulation of Voronoi cells to relate specific views to its domestic program. Each cell corresponds to a clearly defined use, be it an exterior courtyard, a shading canopy, a common space, a bedroom, or an auxiliary space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/NSs00NK\/J.jpg\")
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The rough and weathered stone walls of the house, with their strong and comforting weight, fully encircle it on all sides. Facing South, however, any sense of enclosure disappears, exposing the residence to the full trajectory of the sun. Horizontality prevails, the exposed concrete beams with their shading canopies cantilevering beyond the stone facades and dissolving in front of theuninterrupted panorama of the Aegean Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/4J5dcFK\/L.jpg\")
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Just as the Hourglass Corral\u2019s footprint appears constructed according to a geometrical precision, its plan articulation feels as though it has been hollowed out rather than simply constructed, the building embedded into the landscape. This carved-out quality is emphasized by the thickness of the stone walls and the interior partitions that suggest the atmosphere of an archaeological phenomenon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i.ibb.co.com\/cYMFx69\/M.jpg\")
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Through the development of the Voronoi\u2019s Corrals, DECA Architecture gained significant understanding of sustainable design strategies at a large scale, since they were involved in every aspect and at every stage, not only in its design but also in the planning and implementation of its construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n