Vista House

Vista House is sitting at the top of a steep hill, just outside the city of Agios Nikolaos. It is comprised of two private residences symmetrical to the North – South axis, that have unobstructed view of the Cretan Sea.

The main architectural idea was for the building to be part of the landscape. The houses are placed in a way that they do not protrude from the highest rock of the plot.

The building is organized in 2 floors, the ground floor which is the entrance level and the basement which is developed as a result of the natural slope of the ground. The entrance of each house is protected from plain view. The visitor enters a vestibule created by the staircase, which functionally separates each house.

Public areas such as the living room, dining room and kitchen, are located in the white volumes, in the northern part of the ground floor. The private spaces are organized in the stone volumes south of the staircase. In the lower floor, the master bedroom is developed along the view while at the section in the back there are storage spaces and a playroom.

Each house has a pool of 40 sq.m. that was placed next to the house and not in front of it, to do not obstruct the view of the lower level.

Due to the architects’ experience in bioclimatic design, the white volumes that include the living spaces have higher ceiling for cooling reasons.