The Slot House by Katerina Valsamaki Architects, A Subterranean Sanctuary Sculpted Into the Hills of Tinos
Architecture Design of The Slot House
Description About The Project
The Slot House by Katerina Valsamaki Architects is a sculpted Cycladic retreat carved into the hills of Tinos, blending stone, light, shadow, and landscape.
The Project “The Slot House” Information:
- Project Name: The Slot House
- Location: H56X+G7, Tinos, Greece
- Project Year: 2025
- Area: 230 m2
- Designed by: Katerina Valsamaki Architects
A Question of Beauty: How Should Architecture Inhabit the Landscape?
The Slot House by Katerina Valsamaki Architects begins with a philosophical dilemma: how should one inhabit beauty without disturbing it? Situated on a steep slope on the southern side of Tinos, near Dio Choria, the residence confronts this question through architecture that is both ethical and elemental.
With the mountain rising behind it and an expansive panorama stretching toward Hora, the port, and the islands of Syros, Mykonos, Rhenia, Delos, Naxos, Paros, and Sifnos, the site’s natural drama required an approach of profound restraint.
In a note to Luxury Houses Magazine, architect Katerina Valsamaki explains: “We wanted to inhabit the landscape without consuming it. The house had to be present, yet almost invisible — a gesture rather than an object.”
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Carved Into Earth: A Precise Relationship Between Mass and Void
The defining gesture of The Slot House is its integration into the slope. The rear of the house burrows into the earth, stabilizing the structure and visually grounding it. In contrast, the front slices the terrain open, framing the vast seascape like a controlled incision.
This scalar cut transforms the façade into a plane that redirects the gaze outward, allowing the sea and sky — the immense Cycladic blue — to become the primary architectural elements.
A long canopy extends from the living space, running the full length of the home. Slightly lifted from the landscape, it is the only horizontal line revealing the house’s presence. Beneath it, indoor and outdoor spaces dissolve into one continuous gesture.
Valsamaki reflects: “The canopy is not just shading; it is the breath of the house. It lets the residence emerge softly, an extension of the slope rather than a disruption.”
Courtyards, Light, and Cycladic Climate
Central to the design are courtyards carved into the mass of the house. These voids invite sun and sky inward while shielding the interior from the enduring Northwest winds. Each courtyard acts as a protected microclimate, expanding daily living into the outdoors.
Pergolas filter the Cycladic sunlight into rhythmic shadows, articulating the architectural simplicity of the structure. The interplay of light and darkness is a fundamental part of the home’s identity, shifting across surfaces throughout the day.
These outdoor rooms also serve as connective tissue, enriching the experience of movement — a theme deeply embedded in the home’s narrative.
As Valsamaki notes in her correspondence with Luxury Houses Magazine: “The courtyards are not decorative; they are the lungs of the house. They create calm, shade, and a slow rhythm that belongs to Cycladic life.”
A Subtle Entrance and the Metaphor of Place
From the quiet, stone-lined façade emerges a single, modest ground-floor volume — the metaphorical introduction to the home. This small projection contains visual references to traditional Tinos dovecotes, offering a subtle dialogue between modernity and heritage.
Here, the residence reveals its most expressive elements:
– the long, narrow pool extending the entire length of the house
– the carved entry sequence
– the dialogue between stone, shadow, and the horizon
Every material — stone, earth, timber — is chosen to echo the locale, with walls rising like vertical strata excavated from the hillside.
This careful orchestration of materials reinforces the concept of the home as a slot in the terrain: not placed on the landscape, but drawn from it.
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Experiencing the Slot: Movement as Architecture
Rather than a singular moment of arrival, The Slot House offers a spatial narrative of gradual revelation. Pathways thread between earth and sky, courtyards open and contract, and the interiors extend into the horizon through carefully framed views.
Movement becomes an essential part of inhabiting beauty — a choreographed sequence that allows architecture to dissolve into pure sensation.
Valsamaki articulates this intent with clarity: “To enter the house is to enter the landscape. Architecture is only the thread — the experience belongs to the wind, the sun, and the shifting sea.”
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A Contemporary Greek Residence Rooted in Ethics and Elegance
The Slot House by Katerina Valsamaki Architects stands as an architectural meditation on place, restraint, and the ethics of building in a profoundly beautiful landscape.
Through its carved courtyards, its sculptural integration into the hillside, and its interplay of shadow and sea, the home achieves a rare equilibrium — one where design amplifies, rather than competes with, nature.
In the words of Luxury Houses Magazine, “The Slot House is a quiet incision in the Cycladic earth — a sanctuary where landscape and architecture speak the same language.”
Photo credit: Panagiotis Voumvakis | Source: Katerina Valsamaki Architects
For more information about this project; please contact the Architecture firm :
– Add: Timoleontos Filimonos 6, Athens, Greece
– Tel: +30 21 0643 1460
– Email: info@katerinavalsamaki.gr
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