Argyro Pouliovali designs a house on the Greek island of Antiparos with water as the center of everyday life

An abandoned concrete structure, left unfinished for more than a decade, became the starting point for this remarkable project on the island of Antiparos. Originally conceived under a regulation that allowed owners to preserve their building permits by erecting only the structural frame, the construction had remained suspended in the landscape—silent and incomplete. The studio ARP – Architecture Research Practice, led by Argyro Pouliovali, chose to confront and transform that reality, turning the reuse of the existing frame into a statement of intent: a gesture of sustainability, economy of means, and responsibility toward a territory under pressure from tourism and speculation.

The intervention unfolds through a precise strategy of subtraction and addition. Only the essential parts of the original structure were demolished, and new L-shaped and rectangular volumes were introduced to achieve formal and functional clarity. The result is a composition of essential geometries that reinterprets the domestic order of the island.

The flat site, located near the port and the village center, posed a different kind of challenge than the typical seaside plot. Surrounded by neighboring constructions, the house seeks a balance between introspection and openness. On the ground floor, the volumes are arranged around a central pool that acts as the heart of the home, forming an interior courtyard that ensures privacy and visual continuity. In this way, the architecture moves away from the traditional sequence of separate rooms to propose a more communal experience, with water as the focal point of daily life.

On the upper floor, the living room and master suite open toward two contrasting landscapes: the vibrant port and the calm northern side of the island. A large window frames the view of the sea and the port activity. An external staircase provides independent access to this floor and to the roof terrace, which offers panoramic views over the surroundings.

As in all ARP projects, sustainability is understood through what is essential: cross ventilation, thermal insulation, local materials, and a skylight that transforms the interior staircase into a natural cooling tower. Photovoltaic panels generate the electricity needed for the house’s operation, while native vegetation—olive trees, lavender, Mediterranean shrubs—filters the views and preserves privacy without severing the connection with the landscape.

Far from any monumental gesture, Tetris House integrates quietly into the built fabric of Antiparos. Its white, measured volumes converse with the changing light of the Aegean and propose a discreet way of inhabiting—reminding us that good architecture is not born from accumulation, but from the measure and intelligence with which the essential is arranged.

Project: Tetris House.
Location: Antíparos, Cícladas, Grecia
.
Completion: Septiembre 2024.
Architects: ARP – Architecture Research Practice. Argyro Pouliovali
Mechanical Engineering: Tertras SA.
Structural Engineering: Erisma.
Interior Design: Vana Krimnioti.
Landscape Architecture: H. Pangalou & Associates.
Photography: Giulio Ghirardi Studio.
General Contractor: Doriki Techniki.
Suppliers: Expo SA, Textures and Tiles, Bausytem, Delta Marbles, Develime, Diedron. Brands: Bega, Modular, Hansgrohe, Zanneti Chini, SMEG, Miele, Vogue Ceramica.
Source: V2com newswire.

Argyro Pouliovali

Argyro Pouliovali (1986) is a Greek architect, designer, and writer, founder and director of ARP – Architecture Research Practice, with studios in Athens and on the island of Antiparos. Since its creation in 2014, ARP has undertaken residential, hospitality, cultural, and furniture design projects, exploring the intimate relationships between light, proportion, environment, and spatial flow.

Pouliovali is an architect of luminous silences. In her gaze, the Hellenic world condenses: the forms born of the wind, the veins of stone, the contrast between white and blue, the void that holds a secret. Her design gesture always begins with a place — she discovers a latent geometry, as if the earth itself were drafting its lines and she were its interpreter. In every project, her firm desire emerges that no one should live poorly: that spaces respond to the body, to the climate, to the rhythm of existing under the sun, with economy and poetry in unison.

Pouliovali studied architecture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and later joined ETH Zurich as a visiting student. She worked with Meili Peter Architekten in Zurich and decaArchitecture in Athens, experiences that gave her an international and versatile perspective. During that period, she participated in international competitions and collaborated on award-winning projects under those firms.

ARP: mission, philosophy and recognition

Since its foundation, ARP has established itself as a space for practical research — hence “Research Practice” — where every project begins with a rigorous study of place: its topography, climate, memory, materials, and light. For Pouliovali, architecture is about essentiality: reducing the superfluous to let the essential emerge — the void, the proportion, the light, the balance between mass and transparency. Her approach carries a deeply Hellenic inspiration; the genius loci is a constitutive agent of design.

ARP’s work has been featured in renowned publications such as Divisare, WSJ Magazine, Gestalten, AD Italia and Domus. In 2022, ARP was included in the Wallpaper Architects’ Directory. In 2023, Pouliovali was recognized as a winner of Europe 40 Under 40. The studio has earned numerous national and international distinctions: finalist and award-winner in Greek Architecture Prizes, the Biennial of Young Greek Architects, The Plan Awards, BIGSEE, and competitions for residential, renovation, and cultural architecture.

Vocation, leadership and commitment

Pouliovali is the central and sole founder of the practice, assuming a creative, curatorial, and strategic leadership role. Yet she maintains an explicit commitment to the empowerment of women in architecture and design, promoting visibility, mentorship, and dialogue in a profession still shaped by predominantly male structures.

Her writing and critical reflection also accompany her practice: as an author and contributor, she has written essays and texts for magazines and catalogues related to the architectural project. We include here a short piece of her own:

“Architecture can positively impact people’s lives.

The architectural experience consists above all of the interior proportions of space, the manipulation of light, and the flow from one room to another. It is also materiality — understood as texture or as gradients of transparency. It is, ultimately, how we make architecture engage with the surrounding landscape.Building in Greece is intricate and complex. Ancient heritage, classicism, questions of identity, a fragmented building code, and steep topography are common challenges an architect must face. This reality calls for a deeper understanding of our legacy. What does it mean to be Greek? What truly constitutes our heritage?

On a recent visit to Rome, I wandered around the Roman Forum and bought Orders of Architecture by R. A. Cordingley. I have lived for more than ten years at the foot of the Acropolis hill and have climbed up to the Parthenon and its surroundings countless times, yet I had never seen what I saw in Rome. In his book, Cordingley presents an extraordinary collection of measured drawings made from actual Greek and Roman monuments. On one page, the column of the Parthenon appears: its dimensions are moderate if compared, for example, with the columns of the Roman Temple of Poseidon. Toward the end of the book, the author includes a comparison between Greek and Roman doors and windows: in some cases, the Roman ones are four times higher than those of Greek antiquity. Comparing the different orders, something essential becomes evident: the scale of Greek classicism remains bound to the human scale and maintains a dialogue with the surrounding landscape. In contrast, the scale of Roman monuments is grand and their presence imposing. In this seemingly simple observation, I rediscovered the intrinsic values of my Greek legacy: that sense of spatial generosity which does not overwhelm or intimidate, yet remains inseparably tied to the place. That, I believe, is a profoundly Greek experience.” Argyro Pouliovali

Selected works

Among her most emblematic works are: Tetris House, Antiparos (2019–2024), described in this article. Avlakia House, Antiparos (2016–2020): named after the Greek term avlákia (meaning “gullies” or “ravines”), this residence is set between two natural depressions, alternating mass and void, earth and air, to establish a poetic relationship with the Cycladic landscape. APS House, Antiparos (2017): an exercise in architectural generosity and restraint within a regulated environment, composed of cubic volumes arranged on two levels, patios, passive climate protection, and a rainwater collection system. Papyrella, Mykonos (2019): the renovation of a seasonal villa, combining contemporary treatments with an existing structure.

In addition, ARP designs bespoke furniture for many of its residential commissions. Its portfolio includes furniture series inspired by cyclical forms and the architecture of the Cyclades, created between 2020 and 2022.

Project by Argyro Pouliovali