In Greece, a hotel that unearths memories from the underground

Homa (χώµα) in Greek means ‘soil’, and from the soil this architecture, set in the valley of the village of Vagia, southern shores of the island of Serifos, springs. Here, signs of the mining past still punctuate the landscape – like notes from the underground, to borrow the sole title of Dostoevskij's major work – becoming clearly visible in the voids dug into the earth that indicate the entrances to the artificial network of caves and underground tunnels, and in the railway lines that draw marked geometries between the rocks. Such anthropic signs in the natural context that inspired MOLD Architects' design for Homa Vagia Boutique Hotel, an accommodation complex that offers tourists seeking an intense relationship with nature and the culture of the place an additional reason, besides the beauty of the scenery, to choose a retreat in this corner of the Aegean, beaten by the sun and swept by the meltemi. The complex sits on the steep orography of the land, defining two overlapping platforms that slope down towards the sea along contours, where three independent residential units are set: two on the upper level and one on the lower. The different angles of the constructions create a dynamic layout articulation, almost as if the work were the result of a telluric upheaval, allowing each unit a privileged view of the sea without compromising privacy. 

Access is from the roof, where linear stairs lead to the living level below and where open-air patios excavated in the construction recall the traditional passageways that led from the surface into the mines, providing the only source of light in the darkness of the tunnels. The dwellings consist of two bedrooms, a small living area and a large panoramic terrace with a swimming pool that expands the outdoor living space towards the valley.  In the exteriors, the warm, earthy colour palette – from the beige industrial floor to the pigmented plasters in the colour of the local sand – and the natural rocks that penetrate the architecture create an uninterrupted continuity between man-made work and natural landscape. In the interior, the bare shells and monolithic white concrete furnishings enhance the essential and somewhat monastic character of the light-flooded spaces.