The Mirage house: an invisible oasis by Kois Architecture

Located in the northern side of the Cyclades, in Tinos, an island famous for its unspoiled architecture, its picturesque villages and beautiful scenery, the Mirage house is an outstanding residence situated on a steep sloped rocky plot facing south, overlooking the Aegean Sea.

Oustanding Design

Conceived by Athens studio Kois Associated Architects, the Mirage house is a single-level structure and covers a surface of 198 sqm. To offer guests panoramic views over the Aegean Sea without giving up their privacy, Kois Associated Architects decided to conceive the Mirage house into the rocky terrain that makes up Tino’s south-west coastline.

To minimize the impact to the landscape, Kois Associated Architects decided to bury part of the building into the landscape and shelter it beneath a spectacular rooftop pool. This amazing rooftop pool produces the visual effect of a mirror and helps to incorporate the villa into the landscape creating this way an « inivisible oasis ».

The mirroring pool of water carefully positioned on the landscape evokes memories of the optical phenomenon of the mirage from which the project was named. It seemed impossible to make a villa of 198 sqm disappear into the scenery but Kois Associated Architects achieved this exploit by reproducing elements of the landscape.

The most of the visible construction materials were extracted from the vicinity. Dry stone walls surround sections of the interior and frame the building’s entrance while the rear walls are made of retained earth and layers of vegetation. Besides, these materials are eco-friendly as they regulate the temperature and cool the environment through evaporation.

More than being an extraordinary rooftpop pool, the pool also provides thermal insulation and protection from solar radiation and heat transmittance.

Located on a natural plateau, the Mirage house includes three bedrooms, a separate kitchen, and a large open-air living room. To perserve both its original design and the natural landscape, only the essential features and programmatic elements were incorporated in the design.

Acting almost like an observation post, the Mirage house overlooks the dramatic cascading landscape and the wonderful Aegean Sea. More than a luxurious villa, the Mirage house is an invisible oasis hidden from the unsuspected eyes offering you complete privacy.

To top it all, thanks to Kois Associated Architects’ strategy, the outstanding landscape of Tinos was almost left intact.

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