Faralya Houses

The ‘Faralya Evleri’ are a pair of twin houses overlooking the Mediterranean on a rocky and sloping site.

Architectural requirements and environmental criteria helped determine the geometry of the houses, while local materials and building techniques informed their materiality. Most importantly, only stones from the site were used throughout the construction, minimizing the environmental and economic costs of bringing additional materials to this remote location. 

Each of the houses’ briefs is solved within five interlocking cuboids which sit on the site’s topography as rock formations. The volumes are surrounded by a series of courtyards and terraces which articulate the different levels of the house, serving both as circulation and outdoor living spaces.

From the road, the houses are quite hermetic and unassuming, with only a few vertical basalt louvres cutting through the otherwise minimal facade. The main entrance is further concealed in a stone masonry courtyard where a flight of stairs descends, following the terrain, from the road level to the main doors. The courtyard serves to vestibule the different entrances to the house. The arid exterior is left behind once the main door is opened, revealing magnificent vistas towards the sea.

Stone for the courtyard walls and for the building’s façades was extracted either directly from the site or from a nearby quarry. Craftsmanship was of the utmost importance; the desired results could only be achieved by working closely with a team of stonemasons from the region who are used to working with hard rock such as the one used. While lighter colored stones with white grout were preferred on the building’s façade, darker-colored stones were used without grout for the garden and courtyard walls.

On a site like this, the orientation of a house is almost predetermined, for the social and living areas must have expansive sea views; this means the house faces west, posing the challenge of designing both an open facade and one that can protect against the harsh summer sun and heat. An oversized overhanging roof, concrete eves and deep-set windows are amongst the architectural tools employed to resolve these conflicting criteria.

The interiors are a reflection of the exterior, where muted colors and simple geometries are accentuated by wooden details which add warmth to a modern Mediterranean home. At the centre lies a floating stair which connects all three levels while becoming a design centerpiece.