Fanos Guesthouse: Island Courtyard Living Shaped by Wind and Greek Sun
Fanos Guesthouse sets four semi-autonomous apartments on a Cycladic hillside in Greece, a residential complex by A SOUL shaped by wind, light, and water. The project balances private suites and shared terraces so guests split their days between shaded outdoor rooms, a south-facing pool, and calm interiors. Small gestures in plan and material tune the complex to the climate while keeping the experience relaxed and legible.
White cubic volumes step along the Cycladic horizon, their sharp edges catching the sun as the pool pulls a band of color across the terrace. Doors open toward the water and low stone walls, so guests move barefoot between cool interiors and the warm, reflective courtyard surface. Late in the day, long shadows gather under timber beams and woven shades while the sea glows beyond.
Fanos Guesthouse is a residential complex of four semi-autonomous apartments in the Cyclades, Greece, designed by A SOUL as a quiet response to island climate and topography. Each apartment balances privacy with shared outdoor life, using orientation, courtyards, and shaded circulation to choreograph how guests cross from bedroom to kitchen, from terrace to pool. The arrangement favors outdoor routines, extending everyday activities into fresh air and framing constant contact with wind, light, and distant water.
Courtyards On The Slope
The complex organizes daily life around a main courtyard, where the swimming pool runs parallel to the white façades and mirrors the shifting Cycladic sky. Oriented to the south and west, this shared ground catches sunlight through the day, with the pool edge and terraces angled to hold both long views and late-afternoon warmth. Low stone retaining walls stitch the architecture to the rocky slope, so planted beds and mature olive trees sit close to the water, softening the hard surfaces. Guests read, swim, or gather along this edge, always aware of the wider landscape beyond.
Shaded Paths And Canopy
Between the eastern living rooms and western bedrooms, an open-air circulation path runs as the project’s backbone, shaded for its full length and tuned to prevailing winds. This outdoor corridor keeps movement external, so every trip from bed to kitchen or pool becomes a short encounter with light, breeze, and planted pockets of gravel and stone. At the courtyard’s inner corner, a generous canopy gathers dining, outdoor kitchen-bar, and lounge into an L-shaped arrangement that reads as one continuous room (yet stays open to the sea air). Timber beams, woven pendant lamps, and the glow of stone walls turn twilight meals into long, unhurried rituals.
Rooms Tuned To Views
Planning responds directly to wind and sun: living rooms and kitchens sit on the eastern side, close to the main entrance, while bedrooms occupy the more sheltered west. Each bedroom has independent access, so guests step outside first before reaching the shared courtyard or path, reinforcing the complex’s quiet sense of autonomy. Large openings frame the sea or pool, with pairs of doors that can stand wide open, letting air cross through simple, whitewashed interiors. From bed, guests look past woven rugs and pale floors toward terraces that read as extensions of the rooms.
Material Warmth Indoors
Inside, the architectural language stays pared back, relying on texture and proportion rather than ornament to give character. Light plaster walls, exposed timber beams, and smooth concrete floors create a calm base for built-in sofas, low tables, and woven stools that echo the tones of sand and stone. In the kitchen, warm wood cabinetry and open shelving sit under a skylight, bringing in high daylight while a horizontal window frames the rugged hillside. The outdoor dining area repeats this material palette with rough stone, thick timber, and straw-toned pendants, tying interior and exterior rituals together.
As evening settles, the white volumes recede into the blue hour while small wall lights and the pool’s glow trace the courtyard edge. Guests filter back along the shaded path, passing olives and cacti before reaching their own doors. The complex stays quiet, but its arrangement keeps the relationship with slope, wind, and water constantly present.
Photography by Panagiotis Voumvakis
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