- The triangular house
was quite a radical idea.
(vibrant orchestral music)
We like radical things.
(vibrant orchestral music)
- Why the triangle?
I think that when I was there
in Megara, everything passed
through me, but it wasn't
exactly me that decided,
but the landscape itself.
Hello, I'm Tilemachos Andrianopoloulos,
I'm an architect, and this
is the residence in Megara.
(bright music)
These residence was conceived as an answer
to a specific problem.
How to create a house,
a space of intimacy,
that may at the same time, be as vigorous
as this opposing mountain.
- Me and my husband, we
have a reasonably sized
plot of land, 30
kilometers west of Athens.
- We are in an olive grove.
It's a rather recluse site
in the midst of nature.
- We inherited it from my father,
and we decided to build a house.
It is 200 square meters,
two bedrooms, a living room,
that incorporates everything.
A kitchen, two bathrooms,
and an internal garden.
We didn't have that in our mind,
and then it happened
that we met Tilemachos.
- I have been an architect for 20 years.
Every day on my way to high school,
I was passing by an
apartment block that proved
kind of magnetic to me,
especially its exterior
circular staircase.
And I was thinking, it
is possible to walk up
to your apartment and
feel the air, get the sun.
Was the first time I understood
what architecture really is,
how it can be seductive.
Architecture is composition.
To compose is to put
together, to place together.
Even for a completely new structure,
there is always something
that already exists there.
The site, the landscape, its sunlight,
should all be mediated.
That's why the onsite visit is crucial.
The earth with its warm color is dominant,
as well as this remoteness
from the city, this quietness.
- [Pepie] We wanted something
simple, but elegant.
- He said, "Tilemachos, I
just want something Doric."
Doric is the most austere of
the three ancient Greek orders,
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.
And he certainly did
not have in mind a house
with ancient-like columns.
He wanted the inherent
austerity of that style.
- [Pepie] So, Tilemachos wandered
around, two, three hours.
- Two complementary ideas came there.
A house with a main
courtyard, and the triangle.
The two sides are more closed, protective,
with only vertical slits as openings.
While the third one is
completely transparent
and opens up the interior
to this magnetic mountain.
- Initially I thought it was aggressive.
The way he spoke about
the house convinced us
that he worked on it, he loved
it, and he made us love it.
- Let's get inside.
This intimate garden is that initiation
to the house's inner world.
The tumbling plants are,
I believe, in synergy
with its concrete walls.
So this is the main courtyard.
It's an area for the house's outer life.
The house has a green roof,
and this corner will be eventually covered
by the roof's plants.
Through that door we finally enter
into the main living space.
(bright music)
And what dominates the
interior is exactly the view
of this opposite mountain.
The sliding glass panels
may be completely put aside.
(bright music)
- My favorite part of
the house is the sofa,
because I can see everything.
It's like sitting outside
in the olive grove.
- The interior space is
divided into three areas
that may be subtly defined
by this curvilinear curtain.
At the same time, there is an element
that unifies all three.
It's this oblong feature
out of golden mahogany wood.
It starts as a suspended fireplace,
suspended by its own chimney,
which is a double chimney,
and continues as a long dining table,
slightly lower than the kitchen bench,
and ends up here in the
kitchen with cupboards,
and preparation facilities
integrated into it.
- I think this was the best
designed part of the house,
because I don't think a lot
of people have the privilege
of washing dishes and
having an unhindered view
to a beautiful mountain.
- Next we move through a closed corridor
that lies exactly opposite
to the open air one.
And it leads to the sleeping quarters.
It feels like you're inside,
but at the same time,
in contact with the garden,
and in contact with the sky.
(bright music)
This is the master bedroom,
with an en suite bathroom
that's separated only by a curtain.
The bedroom and bathroom
are directly connected
to the entrance courtyard.
Let's get out again.
(bright music)
I don't believe in the
notion of a creator.
I believe that a creator
is essentially a mediator.
One should try to let all
forces pass through him
so that they are finally
incarnated into creation.
- When you are in a radical house,
because it is a radical house,
it's not a common house,
okay, you live with what it offers you
without being really able
to explain what it does.
- It asks from the owners
to live in a certain way,
and that way is closer to
nature than we are used to.
- It is a house where you feel free.
All my life until now,
when I was sleeping,
I was looking at curtains.
Now I sleep, and I see the stars.
That's the house for me.
