Tetris House by ARP – Architecture Research Practice
Tetris House rests in Greece, a house by ARP – Architecture Research Practice that starts from an abandoned concrete frame and turns it into a precise living structure. The architects work within tight local regulations and a dense village context to pursue reuse over replacement. What emerges is a balanced arrangement of rooms and terraces around a central pool, with measured openings to the port and the island’s rough northern edge.
Low sun slides across pale concrete as the courtyard comes alive. Wind moves over still water, then slips through shaded rooms shaped by tight, clear geometries.
Set within Greece, this house by ARP – Architecture Research Practice repurposes an abandoned structural frame and answers a dense village context with a measured inward turn. The work leans on subtraction and addition to resolve regulation, economy, and sustainability under island pressure—an adaptive approach that gives the lot clarity and use.
Rework the Frame
The project begins with an existing concrete skeleton left standing for more than a decade. Rather than erase it, the team removes only what’s essential and inserts L‑shaped and rectangular volumes to recompose the whole. This disciplined edit keeps embodied structure in play while navigating strict permitting rules and the realities of over‑tourism.
Shape the Courtyard
On flat terrain near the port and village, neighbors press in on three sides. The plan answers with strategic massing around a central pool, forming an inner courtyard that protects privacy yet remains open to breeze and light. Water becomes the daily anchor, shifting the house from a corridor of rooms to a communal core for gathering, cooling, and pause.
Stack for Outlook
Upstairs, living and the master suite look two ways: out to the working port and across the island’s northern wilderness. A broad window frames activity while an exterior stair grants independent access to the upper level and the roof, where views run unbroken over the protected forestry to the west. Movement reads simple and direct, yet every turn answers a boundary.
Temper the Climate
Cross‑ventilation and robust insulation handle the baseline. A skylight over the interior stair deepens the strategy by drawing warm air upward, turning the stair into a cooling tower during hot spells. Photovoltaic panels generate enough electricity to lighten the grid load, while native trees and hardy flora filter hotel views and reduce water demand.
Balance Inward and Outward
Edges stay quiet, the courtyard active. Simple geometry lets daily life swing between communal poolside time and elevated outlooks toward boats and scrubby hills. The house acknowledges its tight village setting and protected west edge, using mass and planting to edit sightlines without retreating from its place.
Late light returns to the pool, and concrete cools to shadow. From reused frame to calibrated rooms, the project reads measured and clear—the work of subtraction, then a few decisive moves.
Photography by Giulio Ghirardi
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