Cliff Hangers: Karpathos, Greece
This low, rectangular structure appears to be floating in the sky.
Architecture & Interior Design: OOAK Architects, ooakarchitects.com
Square Feet: 2,160 Bedrooms: 3 Baths: 3 Altitude: 100 feet
Dwarfed by the sand-colored cliffs surrounding it, this low, rectangular structure appears to be floating. “The porous rock and characteristically sparse, bushy vegetation on which it is built take a long time to regenerate once destroyed,” says architect Maria Papafigou. “So, besides the delicate digging of the foundation, another challenge was to make the formwork for the concrete touch the ground as little as possible.” That formwork supports two-thirds of the home, creating a hovering effect as if it had been set down as gently as possible. This in turn lightened the amount of concrete and local stone used. “The landscape and building are perceived as two distinct elements that together create a new entity, much the way a perfect shell merges with a rock over time and gradually becomes part of the formation, ” explains Papafigou.
