ISLE LTD
IRAS 3A PALEO PSYCHIKO
ATHENS GREECE 15452

+ 30 2106034001
+ 30 6947445477

info@isle.gr

ABOUT

ISLE LTD sells property to people who share a love of nature, architecture, and the Greek Islands.

We choose beautiful and unique sites and place special emphasis on building residences that show a marked respect for their surroundings and the environment.

For Isle, nature and architecture are viewed as a seamless experience of indoor and outdoor spaces designed to inspire.

THE SITE

The site is a magnificent terraced landscape which overlooks Korthi bay and within five hundred meters from the beach. The site captures all the unique features of Andros, the green vegetation of the valley to the west, the town and villages which gather around the bay and the dramatic meeting of mountain and sea. The silver-brown stone which is abundantly found on site and with which the terraces retaining walls were made is also particular to Andros and appears in many of the traditional homes on the island.

KORTHI BAY

The picturesque town of Korthi lies along the western shore, home to many of the island's best restaurants, bars, and shops. Numerous public amenities including the town market are located in a pedestrian road running alongside to the water. On both sides of the bay are sandy beaches perfect for swimming, surfing, and sunbathing. Recreational equipment can be conveniently rented at the windsurfing school.

Like much of Andros, Korthi is an outstanding place for walking. A network of ancient footpaths weave across the region and through many of nearby villages including Idonia, Mousionas, Piso Maria, and Amonakliou.

THE HILLSIDE OF KORTHI BAY FROM THE ARCHITECT

Our first visit was on a stormy winter day. The climb up the mountain was accompanied by the movement of the clouds entering the bay after a long journey across the sea. Breezes of salty air carried the smell of oregano.

The southern hillside of Korthi is not as untouched as it might seem. Centuries ago this part of the mountain was re-shaped into a series of low terraces and agricultural plots for cultivation and livestock. Silver-brown slate was collected off the ground to free up the soil of surface rock and forms the undulating stone walls that follow the contours of the land. The surface of the mountain had been subtly altered as these walls were built on the land, creating a new landscape at once natural and manmade. The mountain then is best traversed in a zigzag fashion, one moves diagonally to facilitate the walk. Movement in this way creates a rhythm of changing views: Korthi Bay, the sea, the mountain side, the valley and the village below. The Aegean horizon presents itself -- an endless yet stable line that establishes harmony and sets the elements in perfect balance.

The landscape is spectacular, its scale and climate are accommodating, and its beauty intimately within reach. This of course makes the design of houses even more difficult. We asked what can architecture contribute to such a place? How do we design a house with interior spaces when one prefers to be outdoors? We soon realized that our houses here should not conceive the interior as an alternative place to the exterior, but rather that the interior must support the enjoyment of the land itself. Therefore, the movement against the mountainside becomes the guiding principle of the arrangement. We imagined the walk within the landscape and within the interior spaces along the same path, a continuous movement, an architecture beyond walls.

The white rectangular volumes step down the terrain echo changes in topographical order. Where the volumes meet the ground generous outdoor spaces extend outward, connecting the interior functions and activities of the house with the site at large. Dining, cooking, sleeping, playing, all find adjacent outdoor space. Sometimes covered or semi-enclosed, appropriately fitted in for their respective uses; an intimate terrace shaded during the summer mornings for breakfast, a private panoramic balcony exposed to the sky and sea, a pool surrounded by semi-covered resting areas, a wide dining and cooking terrace for the evenings. With the passing of hours and seasons, each of these outdoor rooms capture a certain atmosphere, they become spaces that measure time and change. As one moves within and outside the house, the notion of place is recreated through this collection of views, framed compositions of the elements, scenes from the cycles of nature, vivid memories cast under the sun, images of family and friends dining outdoors as the warm summer evening rests.

EXPLORE THE PROPERTIES

The properties are spread out along the terraces and provide a panorama of unobstructed views to both Korthi Bay and the open sea and to the valley. Designed and oriented to create a sequence of landscape scenes, framed views of the spectacular surrounding from each room, each house also provides several outdoor spaces which extend outward the uses and activities of the interior. Movement within the house follows the topography of the mountain and thus adds to the experience of living within the landscape.

ALPHA HOUSE

size of plot :  4,170 sq.m.
indoor space built :  250 sq.m.
outdoor space built :  200 sq.m.
outdoor spaces :  8
bedrooms :  4
bathrooms :  4
toilets :  5
furninshed :  optional
size of pool :  n/a
distance from beach :  500 m
distance from town :  650 m
status :  available

BETA E/W HOUSE

size of plot :  2,010 sq.m.
indoor space built :  150 sq.m.
outdoor space built :  180 sq.m.
outdoor spaces :  5
bedrooms :  3
bathrooms :  4
toilets :  3
furninshed :  optional
size of pool :  32 sq.m.
distance from beach :  400 m
distance from town :  550 m
status :  available