This article with analyze the architecture of the Pythagorean home which was designed by architect Tilemachos Andrianopoulos. If you want to see a video of a walkthrough of the house then watch Pythagorean Home Amidst Olive Grove Offers Views & Protection by Kirsten Dirksen on Youtube. I watched the video and I was so amazed by the design of the building that I wanted to write an article about it. The open design of the Pythagorean Home I do not believe would be a viable design that Architects in Michigan would us for house that would then be built in Michigan. Though it is not a viable design I feel that this masterpiece of architecture can still be analyzed and certain parts of the Pythagorean Home can be practiced and then applied to architecture to be installed into Michigan homes.
The location of the Pythagorean Home is in a sort of valley that is surrounded by mountains. Within the valley in which the house is located is fully engulfed with olive trees. Around the valley is the beautiful Gerania mountains. Through the valley is full of olive trees the environment is that of semiarid which is not the most friendly environment to live within. The owner of the house was gifted the olive grove of six hundred Olive trees from her deceased father. She wanted a place to escape from the world and where her grove was located it would make a great view to see every day. Sense the site of the Pythagorean Home is secluded, the house is only for the owner, and it is in the middle of an olive grove, the architect of choose to go with a design that is smaller. With this small size the house feels more cozy for the owner. Architects in Michigan similarly make their designs for cabins in a similar way to make it cozy for their occupants.
The architect chose to make the house triangular, which is not commonly used within the architecture discipline. Commonly Architects in Michigan and elsewhere design there houses to be rectangular The architect made the house in a shape of an acute triangle because he wanted the sides of the house to reach the maximum length which can’t be done with regular rectangular houses. Two of the sides of the house are longer with small cuts in the walls for wind and natural light to enter. The third and smaller side of the house faces the nearest mountains and can be fully opened up to environment. The entrance of the house is at the tip of the triangle where the two long walls meet. When entering the house you are greeted by a small courtyard. This house is nothing like houses you would see designed by architects in Michigan. The house is designed to be somewhat open to the environment. With this a little under half of the footprint of the site is made up of courtyards. Back to the courtyard, when walking into the house the one can notice that there are plants growing from the roof of the house and plants growing willy neely within the courtyard. This was actually part of the design due to the sharp edges the house have the plants were included to soften up the design and give the design some variety in shapes. The plants are left to natural grow and little is done to change their appearance as they grow and then die with the sessions.
Another fascinating thing with the design of the Pythagorean Home is how they used the surrounding environment to better the overall design of the structure. Like I said in the previous paragraph they used plants within the design to soften up the sharp edges of the concrete walls of the house. The architects in Michigan chose to install a green roof, where you can grow plants on the roof. This is was done to incorporate more plants into the design and insulate the house from the harsh summer sun of the greek summers. Another way they used the surrounding environment to improve upon the design is to color the cement so that it matches with the surrounding ground and mountains. With the cement colored the same as the surrounding environment the house does not look out of place. It looks that house it just a sharp cut out of the surrounding environment, which adds to the beauty of the design. And the last way the architect used the surrounding environment is that they used an ancient well to provide some nice running water like a stream amongst the outside of the shortest wall. This was done to give a nice natural feel to the view of the mountains when one looks out towards the mountains. Also the sound of running water like a stream is very calming and gives a nice touch to living area that is parallel to the man made stream. Architects in Michigan use this idea of running water in architecture frequently because excess to water is very common in Michigan.
The inside of the house is designed to minimalistic modern style. Along the shortest side of the house is the living area. Within the living area is the living room, dining room, and kitchen. There are no walls within the living area that separate the areas. The three separate areas can be separated by a thin curtain which is semi see through. The curtains are flowing from the top of the ceiling as they are moved to their locations to separate the areas of the living area. The wall that faces the mountains is completely made up of sliding windows. The sliding windows can collapse so that the entire living area is open to the environment. When the living area is opened up to the environment, the curtains are light enough to flow with the wind. The living area is very much minimalistic with each separate area having the bare minimum. This house is the most appealing modern house that I have ever seen.