VOIS ARCHITECTS BUILD A U-SHAPED ''BATTLEFIELD'' RESIDENCE IN THE HISTORICAL AREA OF MARATHON

 

The site is located at the area of Marathon at the area where “The Battle of Marathon” took place in 490 BC between the Persians and the Greeks. A glimpse at their great strategic plan of the Greek army became the source of design inspiration for a perfect symmetrical house in the flat field in marathon. The layout of the Greek army that led them to victory was a ”Π shape” with a weaker center and stronger edges. Defining as the starting point the” Π shape”, the building evolves in such a way that it creates a perfect symmetry and mirror of itself . This symmetry extends to the surrounding field.The site is treated as a whole as a perfect “battle _field” of symmetry and order.

 

“Battle _field” is configured in two main elements the house and the garden. Each one offers very different functions but in a very symmetrical and coherent way that complete and enhance the connection between the exterior and interior. The house unit has two mirrored entrance points, one public and one private that lead to two sections accordingly. In the center there is a double height living room with a clear view to the pool. The upper floor is composed by four bedrooms, two on each section.

 

The exterior of the house is comprised in two materials. The ground floor is covered in long perpendicular rough stones and the top is finished is grayish plaster. The garden is developed as an extension of the ground floor , using the stone wall as a repetitive element that create fields of different activities and cultivation. The garden consists of a pool area, a bbq, a seating area, tree fields, flower fields and garage.

 

Being on a flat field allowed us to extend symmetrically and in parallel on the whole, suggesting outdoor spaces of equal importance to the indoor ones that form together strategically a “battle_field” of living.