RHOĒS HOUSE BY SINAS ARCHITECTS: A CONTEMPORARY HOUSE IN SERIFOS REINTERPRETING CYCLADIC ARCHITECTURE

On the greek island of serifos, sinas architects envisions rhoēs, a 390-square-metre private residence shaped by its surrounding landscape. Set against the island's rugged terrain, the project explores a contemporary approach to cycladic architecture, where wind, sunlight, topography and materiality become integral to the design.

Rhoēs explores how contemporary architecture can belong to the Cycladic landscape without relying on the formal vocabulary of traditional architecture. Rather than reproducing familiar forms, the project seeks to understand the environmental forces that have historically shaped them and to reinterpret these conditions for contemporary living.

Located on the exposed landscape of Serifos Island, the house is conceived as a sequence of spaces negotiating wind, sun, terrain and views. Instead of treating the landscape as a backdrop, the project allows it to become an active design generator. Walls, courtyards and sheltered outdoor spaces emerge from a continuous dialogue with the site's climatic and topographical conditions, creating a gradual transition between exposure and protection.

While contemporary lifestyles demand larger spaces and new domestic programs, Rhoēs avoids becoming an architecture that could exist anywhere. Its ambition is not to imitate Cycladic architecture, but to continue its underlying logic: allowing local conditions to shape form, materiality and spatial experience.

The result is a house that seeks a contemporary architectural language rooted in placeone that responds to the realities of modern living while remaining deeply connected to the landscape from which it emerges.  The Architect 

Project information:

- project: rhoēs
- location: serifos island, cyclades, Greece
- architecture: sinas architects - www.sinasarchitects.gr
- lead architect: george sinas
- project type: private residence
- status: unbuilt – under development
- site area: 4,500 m²
- built area: 390 m²
- estimated completion: 2028
- landscape design: sinas architects
- contractor: to be appointed
- materials: natural stone, exposed concrete, oak, glass and aluminum

architecture and landscape design © sinas architects 
architectural visualizations © taf studio
source / partner: v2com 

Part of a Broader Architectural Movement in Greece

Rhoēs also reflects a broader direction in contemporary Greek architecture, where buildings increasingly draw their identity from the landscape rather than traditional architectural forms. Projects such as Liknon, the House of Metaxa in Samos by K-Studio, Euthea Residence by Ateno Architecture Studio, and, on a larger scale, Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, illustrate this growing interest in architecture that blends into its surroundings through natural materials, restrained geometries and a close relationship with the terrain. While each project follows its own architectural approach, they share a similar ambition: to redefine Mediterranean living through a contemporary language deeply connected to place.