MT 19.04
House at Kalami
Kalami, Apokoronas, Chania
Three stone wings around an old olive tree above Souda Bay. For seven months of the year the courtyard is the living room.
Buildings for the light and weather of western Crete
Metopo is nine people in a sixteenth-century warehouse on the harbour at Chania. We design houses, repair old buildings, and build the occasional school, market or winery, with thick walls, deep shade and lime.
DrawingL-01
House at Kalami, light study21 June, 35.5° north
Morning. The courtyard is still in the shade of the east wing; the sun is on the west wall of the bedrooms.
Noon. The sun is almost overhead, at 78 degrees. The pergola keeps the glass of the living room in shade.
Late afternoon. The shadows run east across the field; the meltemi is up and the doors are open.
Last light. Long shadows, a warm west wall, and the stone giving back the heat of the day.
Six habits, 18 years in
More on how we work- Build with the climate
- Repair before replace
- Measure first
- Visit at every hour
- Models made by hand
- Drawings published
Recent work
Houses, restorations, public buildings and landscape, from Kissamos to Rethymno. Hover a picture to see the drawing under it.
MT 17.02
House on Theotokopoulou Street
Topanas, old town, Chania
A Venetian town house of the sixteenth century, with an Ottoman timber bay, repaired for two people and a workshop on the street.
MT 14.01
Primary school at Vamos
Vamos, Apokoronas, Chania
Four classrooms and a covered yard for a village school, beside the stone school of 1894, which became the library and hall.
MT 22.03
Market hall, Kissamos
Kissamos, Chania
Seven thin lime-concrete vaults on stone piers: a roof for the Saturday market, and a covered square for the other six days.
MT 18.05
Winery at Voukolies
Voukolies, Kissamos, Chania
A press hall set into a hillside, a barrel cellar dug into it, and a tasting room under a pergola facing the vines.
The register
All projects, with the map| No. | Project | Place | Kind | Status | Year | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MT 19.04 | House at Kalami | Kalami, Apokoronas, Chania | House | Built | 2023 | 212 m² |
| MT 17.02 | House on Theotokopoulou Street | Topanas, old town, Chania | Restoration | Built | 2021 | 164 m² |
| MT 14.01 | Primary school at Vamos | Vamos, Apokoronas, Chania | Public building | Built | 2019 | 780 m² |
| MT 22.03 | Market hall, Kissamos | Kissamos, Chania | Public building | Under construction | 2027 | 1,450 m² |
| MT 24.06 | Harbour pavilion, Chania | Venetian harbour, Chania | Public building | Competition | 2024 | 216 m² |
| MT 18.05 | Winery at Voukolies | Voukolies, Kissamos, Chania | Place of work | Built | 2022 | 1,100 m² |
| MT 20.02 | Reading room in the old baths, Rethymno | Old town, Rethymno | Restoration | Under construction | 2026 | 390 m² |
| MT 16.03 | Terraces at Anopoli | Anopoli, Sfakia, Chania | Landscape | Built | 2020 | 26,000 m² |
Akti Enoseos 17, since 2011
We work in a warehouse the Venetians built for ships' timber
A barrel vault thirty-two metres long, stone walls a metre thick, and a glass arch onto the harbour. It took us three winters of weekends to repair it; it is still the best lesson in climate we know. In August it is the coolest room in Chania.
From the journal
Site notes and material studiesWhere the meltemi goes
The summer wind in Crete comes from the north. A house that lets it through does not need air conditioning.
About 200 words
How a dry-stone wall stands up
No mortar, no concrete, no steel. The terraces of Anopoli are held up by weight, friction and the way water passes through.
About 200 words
The model is the argument
Clients do not read plans. They walk round a model, bend down and look through the door. That is when a project is decided.
About 150 words
Recent prizes
- 2024Aegean Prize for Architecture, housesHouse at Kalami
- 2024Second prize, harbour pavilion competitionHarbour pavilion, Chania
- 2023Cretan Building Awards, places of workWinery at Voukolies
- 2022Commendation, Mediterranean Stone AwardsTerraces at Anopoli