Maina Villa located on an abandoned 18th century megalithic two-storey building by Z-level

Architects: Z-level
Location: Mani Peninsula, Greece
Year: 2011
Photo courtesy: Babis Louzidis
Description:

The tower-house is situated at Exo Nyfi, a relinquished customary settlement in Eastern Mani with stone towers. Situated on the slope the house watches out over the Mani scene with perspectives of olive forests and the sea.Initially a deserted megalithic two-story building dating from the eighteenth century, cut off from the street with access just over a stone-cleared way; the ruin was situated in a patio nursery with olive trees, carob trees and thorny pear prickly plants, settled in the grasp of the slope with a cavern. Toward the east, the yard adjoined a sixteenth century tower, which is a verifiable landmark, and close by there was a Byzantine house of prayer with twelfth century divider compositions.

The principle tested confronted in the configuration procedure were the manner by which to make a persuasion relationship between the building and its verifiable foundation and how to acquaint the expansion with the current building and the web of the conventional settlement. The objective of the outline was for an extra remodel of the tower-house and its transformation into an occasion manor that radiated a primordial soul of spot. The habitation was intended to work as a beginning stage and a spot to acquaint oneself with the normal magnificence of Mani and in addition its social riches, causing along these lines to reveal insight into the customary settlements in the territory and attempt to breath life into them back, as they have gradually been surrendered with the progression of time.

The complete absence of framework (access, water, waste transfer, consistent electrical power supply) made independence, environmental administration and bioclimatic configuration compulsory, which run as one with the customary methods for managing the neediness of the area and an emphasis on just what is totally important.

The outline came to fruition taking the constrained development limit into thought at all stages. Access challenges required that on location means and assets must be utilized and oversaw.

“Maina” was composed as per vernacular lodging sorts in the protection recorded settlements of Mani, keeping in mind the end goal to fit in with existing structures in the town. In molding the outside regions, an alternate vocabulary was used from that of the building, keeping in mind the end goal to set up an intuitive relationship between the direct physical and verifiable scene and the building’s new proposed use.

The first building was kept up as a long restricted volume, which develops oppositely to the topographic shape lines of slope, as do alternate houses in the settlement, watching out to the ocean and the east. It incorporates two levels with an aggregate surface region of 88 sq.m. (947 sq.ft). The new option contained a second long limited volume added adjoining this old building, keeping up the same vertical associations with the scene alleviation, including 62 sq.m. (667 sq.ft). Each of the three levels of the living arrangement constitute single spaces, and suitable position of openings guaranteed normal light and ventilation amid the hot Mani summers. This offers ascend to either a solitary occasion estate or two autonomous units. Every level has autonomous access to the outside territories, each composed separately as per surrounding daylight and the characteristic scene.

This Mani tower-house is a building made in progressive stages after some time, with a specific end goal to cover the spatial prerequisites of its different clients.

Its late transformation to a naturally minded occasion manor is proposed to leave a light foot shaped impression on the long history of the building and to open up a dialog in the middle of explorers and spot.