Two houses, one architectural gesture
Each house unfolds on three levels following the natural slope. The ground floor holds the shared living areas; lower down are the retreats — bedrooms with a calm, partly buried character.
Residential compound · Sellia, Rethymno, CreteThe Black House and the White House
TwoHousesinSellia
Two independent, fully furnished holiday residences on a sloping plot with olive trees and panoramic views over the South Cretan Sea.
Project overview
TheBlackHouseandtheWhiteHouseshareonearchitecturalrule—asolidGamma-shapedwallasacentralspine—andopenwithglassfacadestowardthesea.TwovoicesofthesameMediterraneanlanguage.
Compound of two holiday residences
LocationSellia, Rethymno, Crete
TypeHoliday residential compound
ProgrammeTwo independent houses on three levels each, pool
ServicesArchitectural design, permit, supervision
StrategyPlanted roof, low energy footprint
Black and white. Stone and glass.
The Black House reads as a more solid presence; the White House opens through an expressive canopy. Both share the water of the pool, the colour of the sea, and the blue sky as common materials.
Architectural narrative
TwoHousesinSellia
Two independent, fully furnished holiday residences on a sloping plot with olive trees and panoramic views over the South Cretan Sea.
Landscape
The siting follows the olive trees and keeps the horizon line of the southern Cretan coast as a distant reference.
Plan
The G-shaped wall acts as a spine, hides the services, and leaves the rest of the elevation free to open toward the sea.
Energy
A planted roof, careful orientation, and low-impact materials keep the compound quiet in its energy footprint.
The coast becomes the strongest material of the project.
The plot, with its strong slope and olive trees, defines the spatial decisions. Each level reads the sea from a different elevation.
Two characters, one shared logic.
The Black House sits low and weighted in the landscape; the White House opens upward beneath its canopy. The architectural system stays the same; the atmosphere shifts.
The glass disappears; the sea enters.
On the level of the shared spaces, the perimeter is almost invisible. The interiors live with the coastline, the air, and the light.
The composition stays discreet in the dark.
Lighting is designed so that the residence does not stand out from the landscape. It works as a calm presence above the coast.
If you strip Greece of everything, in the end you will see left only an olive tree, a vineyard, and a boat. Which means: with just as much, you can rebuild it.
Gallery
TwoHousesinSellia
Sellia, Rethymno, Crete
