A hillside on Andros is called to accommodate two houses of a total of 380m2 and a 400-person open air theater. The landscape is exceedingly beautiful, and exceedingly sensitive.

The geology of Andros is expressed on this site by layers of schist rock which project beyond the hillside, cantilevered for 1,50m or more. Together with the native vegetation and the steep slopesthey form the landscape character.

The clear intent for client and designers in such a beautiful place is to integrate the buildings and the theater as much as possible: by using the forms of the landscape itself.

The main design vocabulary is the cantilever, materials in the colors of the landscape – Andros stonework or concrete – and the surrounding vegetation. The buildings are composed of concrete slabs which create cavities in the landscape, and project dynamically out of it. The interior spaces are defined by stone bearing walls – constructed to the degree possible from the excavated rock – and glazing recessed deeply under the slabs. The walls are jagged in plan, following the forms of the landscape.

The theater is build of concrete which with time will weather to the colors of the surrounding rocks. Its main characteristic is the stage: a 12m diameter circle which projects 5m out of the hillside. The strict geometry of the benches melts into the surrounding landscape, while the control room is housed under a cantilevered slab which unifies it with the overhanging rocks.

The structures are enveloped in native vegetation, selected locally and multiplied in specialized nursery.