Photography (exterior):
Nikoforos Stamenis
Photography (interior):
Panagis Kavalieratos
The rental villa in Kefalonia is the first of the two villas that is currently constructed. The other villa will be ready next year. The plot of the villas is outside the town’s plan and has a total area of 7,000 m2. It is located near the town of Skala in Kefalonia island, on a steep slope, with endless view to the Ionian Sea.
The architectural programmatic needs of the client were very specific: it is a rental villa mainly for a couple, ideal for relaxation and luxurious holidays. It could be described as a honeymoon villa. The infinity pool at the edge of the villa’s landscape comprises the best spot that offers views to the sea.
The building is formed by two volumes, attached to each other: the main volume includes an open plan double-height space with the living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom as well as an open attic overlooking the ground floor. The attic can be used as a second bedroom or a study room. The smaller volume is the master bedroom.
The strict town-planning laws in Kefalonia island led the architect to design an asymmetrical sloping roof for the main volume. The roof starts from the lowest point at 3.20 metres and ends up in the highest point of 6.5 metres. The idea was to create an “airy” open plan living room, so that the attic is overlooking the space below, giving a sense of openness. The volume of the master bedroom has a symmetrical sloping roof, which is constructed with dark grey ceramic tiles on the outside and timber frame on the inside. So the guests can see the white painted timber of the roof, while sitting inside.
All the materials chosen in this rental villa are quite minimal and serene, without colour contrasts, giving a sense of tranquility and architectural continuity. All the floors are covered by large light-grey granite tiles, which have also been used partly on the terrace. The floor of the attic is timber. All the furniture are a combination of white lacquer and oak wood in very modern and minimal lines. All the fabrics are in white and grey tones, including the cushions and decorative objects.
The surrounding landscape of the villa features three main areas: the timber deck area which surrounds the infinity pool. The granite-tile area which includes the pergola and an exterior sitting space. And finally the garden on the back of the villa, that includes all kinds of «Mediterranean” plants such as lavenders, thyme, rosemary etc. as well as large stones that were already in the plot. The existing rocks have been used to build all the walls of the surrounding landscape and also a stone storage space, within the garden. The “Mediterranean” garden features an external shower area, with all its architectural elements.
The rental villa can be used by disabled people, since it has been designed to have all interior and exterior spaces on one level. This doesn’t include the attic.
The construction of the rental villa is quite advanced and unique for the area of Kefalonia. Kefalonia is known for its earthquakes and thus needed a very smart and serious structural approach. Ιt was decided to use a combination of reinforced concrete as a base of the building and a timber frame structure as the main frame. Timber beams and columns include the main frame. This structure is covered with OSB panels on the inside and the outside, according to the structural engineer. All the voids within the walls are filled with rock wool panels for thermal and acoustic insulation. Additionally, the exterior of the building is covered with polystyrene insulation panels and plaster. This makes the building very highly insulated. The roof features dark grey ceramic tiles, with a timber frame underneath and a high level of insulation. All the windows and doors are made of aluminum frame with energy glass, while the interior walls are covered with plasterboards. Only the roof has exposed timber frame, as an architectural feature.
From a mechanical-engineering point of view, the rental villa has a fan coil system for cooling, and solar panels for hot water supply. Additionally, for economical and ecological reasons, there are rainwater collection tanks to be used for watering the garden during the summer.
