The Ring House

Info

The Ring House is located on the southern coast of Crete. The house and its garden are designed to form a temperate microclimate, an oasis within an intensely beautiful but physically demanding environment.

Credits

Location Crete, Greece
Area 393 m²
Year 2012-2016
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Design
Construction
DECA Team
Design Team:
Thalia Chrousos, Alison Katri, Giannis Kitanis, Maria Pappa, Argyro Pouliovali
Construction Management:
Maria Pappa, Anna Kartasi
Collaborators
Structural & Mechanical Engineer:
Gnomon
Site Management:
Creta Construction, George Loulakis, Charalambos Papamattheakis
Topographer:
Sophia Karanasiou
Botanical Consultant:
Popi Grammatikopoulou
Photographer:
George Messaritakis

Awards

Landscape Restoration

 

This project involved the movement of 12.000m3 of earth.

The excavation material was used to restore the morphology of the earth that had been scarred in the past to create an elaborately useless network of roads on the land.

Step by step, guidelines for all the earthworks were produced to help us visualize and communicate them to the excavation crew.

 

Sowing Seeds

 

Once the earth was restored, the plants needed grow again. During the spring, prior to construction, seeds were collected on site and cultivated in a green house to grow more seeds. These were then sowed over the traces of the old roads and three months later the local plants gradually reappeared, hiding any trace of the old roads.

Planning and Management

For a small minority of our projects, we assume the responsibility for the planning and management of the construction. We usually do this when the complexity or novelty of the project requires special attention. Nothing like the Ring House had been built in the neighborhood.
We interviewed over 50 crews before determining the craftsmen that would comprise the construction team. It was an opportunity for us to meet many people and make some good new friends.

AWARD

International Architecture Awards 2019

The Ring House has been awarded with the International Architecture Award 2019, powered by  Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. On Friday, September 13th, 2019, The Chicago Athenaeum, together with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, will open a special exhibition of all awarded buildings projects, “The City and the World” at The Contemporary Space Athens.

AWARD

DOMES AWARDS 2018

The Ring House was distinguished in the “Best Built Project of the Years 2013-2017” in the 2018 Domés Awards. The annual institution of  Domés Awards, which has been organized for the ninth time this yea is highlighting modern Greek architecture supported by jury architects from around the world.

AWARD

ARCHITECTURE PODIUM

The Ring House won the first award in the category “Residency (Built)” of the 2018 International Architecture Awards, given to projects showcasing excellence and innovation in architecture & design.

SHORTLIST

ABB LEAF AWARDS

The Ring House has been shortlisted in ABB LEAF Awards 2018, an institute running for over 17 years, among projects that set the benchmark for the future of the architectural design.

PUBLICATION

THE WORLD’S BEST ARCHITECTURE

The Ring House in Crete has been featured in the A+Awards book, entitled “The World’s Best Architecture”, published by Architizer, in partnership with Phaidon. Judged by more than 400 experts and thousands of public voters.

PUBLICATION

The Ring House@IW Magazine

In May 2019, the ‘Ring House’ was published in IW Magazine, a bimonthly publication focused on aesthetics of living space and contemporary design space, originating from Taiwan.

PUBLICATION

The Ring House@ DOMES Yearbook of Greek Architecture

In 2018, the ‘Ring House’ was included in the 9th architecural yearbook, edited by Domés International Review of Architecture. An archive published every year attempting to contribute in architectural experimenting and perfecting.

PUBLICATION

The Ring House@DOMES Awards 2019

The ‘Ring House’, in Crete has been published in Domés Awards 2019, in honour of its distinction in the category ‘Best Built Work of the Years 2013-2017’ in the awards of the previous year.

PUBLICATION

The Ring House@eko kuca Magazine

On the southern coast of Crete, Greek architectural firm decaARCHITECTURE has turned a commission for a modern residence into an opportunity for land preservation. Named the Ring House for its rounded shape, the house was created to follow the existing topography and looks like an extension of its hilltop location. The site had been scarred by environmentally insensitive infrastructural development but has now recovered its original morphology and has been replanted with native flora.