Sitting on the ridge of the hill of Aleomandra in Mykonos and designed by K-studio, Villa Mandra looks straight out to sea and the sunset over the neighboring island of Delos. A 6-bedroom holiday house built it celebrates its spectacular view from a grounded viewpoint blended into a sensitively landscaped, stone-walled garden that screens it from the road behind.
Inspired by the humble complexity of the traditional island vernacular they reduced the architecture to 2 small traditionally whitewashed volumes and a third of stone dug from the site, built around a large ‘courtyard’ living area which is covered by an expansive but lightweight chestnut pergola. This courtyard becomes the focal point of the house, seamlessly connected to the living room and kitchen volumes, and looking over the pool and gardens beyond. Beneath the pool garden are the private bedrooms.
Their separation further reduces the overall impact of the house and cleanly divides social and private space. Key to the character of the house is the palette of traditional materials such as lime-wash, stone, and wood that have been applied and engineered with contemporary techniques. Hand-built stone walls are sharply confident; traditionally rendered, round-edged volumes are perfectly flat and smooth.
The customary chestnut pergola has been engineered to increase its structural integrity, to form a glue-lam beam lattice that sits lightly on the white volumes, shading and protecting the extensive courtyard beneath. Villa Mandra is informed by humble Cycladic tradition, enriched by natural materiality and inspired by contemporary summer living.