Villa Ousia — Three Volumes Orchestrate Indoor-Outdoor Life by the Sea
Villa Ousia sits on a hillside above Pitsidia, Greece, where Paly Architects condense a house into three offset volumes shaped by stone, earth-toned plaster, and glass. The arrangement pivots around a pool and a pair of pergolas, threading the rooms to outdoor life while softening wind and sun. Built between 2023 and 2025, the residence reads as concise and deliberate, with local materials setting the tone indoors and out.
Stone catches the Greek light. From the hillside above Pitsidia, three offset volumes read as a composition, their edges aligning with the slope and their surfaces working with wind and view.
The house in Pitsidia, Greece, by Paly Architects arranges stone and earth-toned plaster volumes around outdoor rooms tied to a pool. Material drives the experience.
Build With The Hill
Each parallelepiped volume steps with the terrain, notched to form protected pockets and open terraces. Edges feel deliberate. The rear entrance lands in a wind-sheltered backyard formed by the slight offsets, turning circulation into a calm pause before the views open north and south. Gravel underfoot and large boundary stones anchor the approach, while planted cuts and a circular stair stitch grade changes into everyday movement.
Stone Core, Glass Links
At the center, a taller stone volume holds the entrance and the open living zone of kitchen, dining, and lounge. Connections stay light. Two transparent glass passages join the flanking plaster-clad volumes: one wing with a bedroom, office, and shared WC; the other with the master suite opening to a planted courtyard. Black aluminum frames meet iroko accents, setting a crisp threshold between solid mass and clear views.
Pergola Extends Living
A large pergola rides between the volumes, then reaches outward to the water. Shade matters. Beneath it, the open-plan core pushes outdoors, so cooking, eating, and sitting flow toward the pool without losing cover. An independent pergola at the pool edges the deck, giving midday refuge and a counterpoint to the house, with breezes pulled through by opposing openings.
Openings, Light, Air
Large sliding panels face north and south, encouraging cross-ventilation and evaporative cooling when fully open. The movement feels direct. Views run from the hillside down to the settlement, across the plain, and out to the sea, while the backyard remains calm for entry and everyday routines. Chestnut wood, rust-toned metal, and straw-laced plaster temper the glare and add tactility when the sun is high.
Rooms And Courtyards
Program reads clean: a bedroom suite and office to one side, the master suite to the other, both benefiting from planted courts and short, bright links. Surfaces stay honest. Beige interior finishes and cotto tile floors continue outdoors, tying rooms to terraces and the pool deck in a consistent grain. Rooftops receive gravel like the approach, tightening the palette and cooling the mass under the afternoon heat.
Evening draws long shadows across stone and tile. The materials keep their quiet charge — local, durable, and tuned to weather — as the open plan settles into night.
Photography by George Anastasakis
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