Featured Architect brings together a selection of emerging and established practices—both international and local—that are shaping today’s architectural discourse. Positioned at the forefront of the field, these studios stand out for their distinctive voice and evolving body of work. With spontaneity and critical intent, they engage with the pressing questions of contemporary architecture and artistic practice, articulating new directions through projects that are at once experimental, grounded, and culturally resonant.
ARP – Architecture Research Practice founded in 2014 in Athens and Antiparos by Argyro Pouliovali operates across residential, hospitality, and cultural projects, where built work is complemented by a parallel research-driven exploration of objects and installations. This dual approach fosters a continuous dialogue between making, use, and experience. Grounded in close engagement with site and construction, the studio develops architecture through careful observation, emphasizing materiality, structure, light, and spatial clarity in strong relation to context.
Design Philosophy
ARP – Architecture Research Practice was founded by Argyro Pouliovali, whose work is shaped by a rigorous, research-driven design process and a sensitivity to place. The practice engages architecture across scales, from buildings to objects and installations, treating design as an evolving process informed by use, time, and physical experience. Drawing from vernacular traditions and contemporary conditions, ARP develops projects that balance permanence with adaptability, using a restrained material palette and precise interventions to create meaningful spatial experiences.
ARP’s approach is grounded in close engagement with site, context, and construction. Each project begins with careful observation and analysis, allowing architectural ideas to emerge through material, structure, proportion, and light. The studio prioritises clarity, spatial precision, and a strong relationship between architecture and its environment.
Projects
Beach House in Ayia Kyriaki, Antiparos (2024)
Located on the Cycladic island of Antiparos, this project concerns the renovation of a small beach house originally built in the 1980s. Situated adjacent to the Byzantine church of Agia Kyriaki, from which the area takes its name, the intervention retains the building’s original footprint, as current regulations prohibit reconstruction due to both its proximity to the sea and its archaeological significance.
The house remains embedded within a landscape marked by ceramic antiquities uncovered on site. The material palette is intentionally restrained, drawing from the vernacular character of older island dwellings.
Ceramic tiles reference both the recent architectural heritage of the island and the fragments discovered during archaeological excavations. Marble sourced from nearby Naxos is used for the kitchen surfaces and bathrooms, while traditional pressed-wood openings—carefully re-dimensioned—maintain the house’s original character while accommodating contemporary living requirements.
The spatial organization follows a clear and linear arrangement, with three primary rooms positioned directly along the beachfront, accompanied by a semi-open living space. The program includes a kitchen, two bedrooms, and three bathrooms, all oriented toward the sea. At the center of the house, the semi-open space functions as the core of daily life, enhanced by movable white shutters that regulate light, privacy, and ventilation. This flexible threshold becomes a focal point for gathering, particularly during the warm summer months.
Landscape interventions remain deliberately minimal. A small vegetable garden and an informal soccer field extend the domestic environment outdoors, reinforcing a relaxed and collective mode of living closely tied to the rhythms of the island.
Facts & Credits
Design team: Argyro Pouliovali, Sofia Xanthakou, Eva Alberini, Nora Delidimou, Nicole Kotsis, Marilena Stavrakaki, Anna-Maria Labrinopoulou
Mechanical Engineers: PG Kamarinos
Structural Engineers: Erisma
Interiors: Anna Maria Coscoros
Landscape Architect: SKAPE Ltd
General Contractor: Doriki Techniki
Photography: Giulio Ghirardi
Patitiri house, Antiparos (2023)
Patitiri meaning “winepress” in Greek, is a historic stone structure built between 1933 and 1936 along the shoreline of Antiparos in the Cyclades. Originally conceived as a communal space for traditional wine-making, the building hosted the ritual of grape stomping, where grapes were pressed barefoot to initiate fermentation.
Archaeological traces found in the surrounding sea indicate that viticulture in the area dates back to antiquity. Over time, and through successive changes in ownership, Patitiri has gradually evolved into a beachfront dwelling while retaining its cultural resonance.
The intervention approaches the building as an act of restoration, acknowledging its informal landmark status and significance within the island’s collective memory, despite the absence of official heritage designation. The exterior remains largely untouched, with careful restoration and regrouting of the exposed stone masonry.
Additions are deliberately minimal, limited to a reclaimed marble sink integrated into the outdoor counter and a custom Dionysos marble table. The shutters are repainted in a light blue tone, subtly reinforcing the building’s relationship to its coastal setting.
Internally, the project preserves the existing material character while introducing a restrained palette of white-painted solid oak and marble sourced from nearby Naxos.
Spatial interventions are conceived with precision, following an almost surgical approach in which small, targeted modifications yield significant improvements in functionality. Adjustments to the layout—particularly within the kitchen and bathroom areas—enhance usability while maintaining the integrity of the original structure.
The resulting composition establishes a measured dialogue between vernacular heritage and contemporary living. Natural materials, clean geometries, and carefully considered details converge to create a cohesive domestic environment, where the historical identity of the building is preserved and reinterpreted for present-day use.
Facts & Credits
Design Team: Argyro Pouliovali, Nora Delidimou, Marilena Stavrakaki, Elli Tsakopoulou
Year of Completion: 2023
Area: 252 m2
Construction & Management: Panayiotis Xymitiris
Photography: Giulio Ghirardi Studio
Furniture Cycladic, Antiparos (2022)
The collection comprises a series of structural furniture pieces crafted from locally sourced natural materials in close collaboration with regional artisans.
Rooted in the Cycladic context, the furniture adopts simple, archetypal forms that resonate with the architectural language of the buildings they inhabit.
Conceived as functional sculptures, these elements operate fluidly between interior and exterior environments, offering a flexible framework for use while enabling a more immediate exploration of spatial and material ideas. Their presence extends beyond utility, engaging with architecture at an object scale.
Materiality plays a central role in the collection, with pieces constructed from traditional terrazzo, Pendelikon marble from Attica, and solid oak. Defined by clarity of geometry and robustness, the furniture accommodates the evolving needs of summer living. Its durability—resistant to salt exposure and corrosion—combined with a timeless aesthetic, reinforces its integration within the coastal landscape.
Avlakia house in Antiparos (2020)
Avlakia House rests in-between two gorges (avlákia in Greek) in the Cycladic island of Antiparos, Greece. The site is facing west, while it is also exposed to the northern stronger winds. It enjoys views of 180º towards the Aegean archipelago and the neighboring islands of Sifnos and Serifos.
Find out more, here!
Bio
Argyro Pouliovali, principal architect and founder of ARP, established the practice in 2014. She studied architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and ETH Zurich, where she developed a rigorous approach to design rooted in construction, material intelligence, and contextual sensitivity.
Before founding ARP, she gained professional experience working on residential and mixed-use projects in Greece and Switzerland. Since then, she has led the design and delivery of a diverse range of works, including private residences, hospitality projects, renovations, and site-specific architectural commissions.
Her work has been recognised through awards and international publications. Alongside built practice, she continues to explore architecture across scales, from permanent structures to spatial objects and installations, positioning design as an ongoing process shaped by use, time, and physical experience.