Ilija Bentscheff

Ilija Bentscheff, WT 2002/03, House in the Landscape, Prof. I. Kuhler, WM P. Perdersen, UdK Berlin


A HOUSE IN THE LANDSCAPE

The topography of the coast area of the peloponnes in south greece is shaped of the ancient tradition of olive oil production. The site between the coast and the taygethos is a kind of stepped landscape with built plateaus sustained by broken stones. The strong horizontal directions and the dominating materials of the place are the leading elements of the house.
The way to the house goes from the coast, up the hill to the upper plateau of the location. The way is cut into the ground and is leading to the courtyard of the house. The house itself is an introverted structure, which is buried into the ground. The second configuration was to extract the volume and to create the sheltered courtyard, which will be covered in the heat of the mid-summer by membrane. The entrance into the house is an open alley, which leads from the upper to the lower plateau and offers a framed view over the landscape and the bay of kalamata. The structure of the house is defined and directed by the cultivated landscape. The broken stone-wall, arming the plateaus goes through the house and defines the layout. The wall leads along the different rooms to the in both directions opened living-room. The south-west-façade is shifted into the volume to create a sun-sheltered terrace.