Virani, House on Hydra Island, Greece by Styliane Philippou

The three-storey family house overlooks the historic town of Hydra and the Saronic Gulf. Its architecture pays homage to the distinctly eclectic character of its urban setting, as it developed during the Saronic island's prosperous era, when its economic and cultural interests extended well beyond its shores, and its homes reflected the larger world its people inhabited.

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Designed by architect-engineer Styliane Philippou, the Virani house takes its name from its privileged position, perched high on the eastern hill of the historic town of Hydra, laid out through the centuries in the natural amphitheatre around the port. The Hydriot word virani defines the large unobstructed space at the uppermost level of the seafarers' stone mansions built in the era when Hydra prospered as a centre of maritime trade – from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth century (1770–1815). The virani accommodated the family's social gatherings and balls as well as the industrious looms which wove sailcloth for the island's formidable merchant fleet.

The town of Hydra was declared a national historic monument in 1962. In 1967, the listing was extended to nearby settlements, and in 1975 to the entire island, in recognition of its exceptional natural beauty, major historical importance associated with the Greek War of Independence, and outstanding urban and architectural heritage. These days, construction is only permitted in cases of reconstruction of historically documented buildings. Externally, the Virani is a faithful recreation of a pre-existing house, based on archival sources and traces found on the site. Its architecture pays homage to the urban, distinctly eclectic character of its setting, as it developed at a time when Hydra's economic and cultural interests extended well beyond her shores, and the homes of the Hydriots reflected the larger world they inhabited. Local, national and international sources – historical and contemporary – were mined for inspiration over years of research and experimentation with forms, materials, techniques and construction details. Integration in the immediate physical environment was also a key guiding principle. The three-hundred-thirty-square-metre Virani develops over three floors, following the natural contours of the site. Breaking up the building's mass into exposed-stone and mortar-coated volumes aimed to reduce its visual impact.

Traditional construction methods were combined with modern materials and techniques. Building on a vehicle-free island and at two hundred and ninety-seven steps from the port presented unique challenges and opportunities. Highly-skilled local stonemasons built the Virani's sixty-centimetre-thick, load-bearing masonry walls, using hard limestone extracted from the site, to the specifications of structural engineers adhering to demanding building-code standards in a high seismic region. Hydraulic mortars and natural pigments were extensively explored to achieve the characteristic red-ochre hue of the exterior stuccoed walls and of the recessed pointing of the exposed masonry that matches the colour of the earth in the surrounding landscape. The high perimeter wall of the property with the curved mortar coping is characteristic of the island's residential architecture. The haptic qualities of the exterior textured walls contrast with those of the polished-mortar surfaces inside the house. Exceptionally-skilled craftspeople laboured over four years over its neoclassical- and byzantine-pattern marble floors, steel-and-timber internal stair-cum-bookcase, and numerous objects, pieces of furniture and lighting custom designed and made for this house, which also benefits from high-end technology services, such as underfloor heating and cooling.

Along the stone-paved ascent from the port, one gets glimpses of the Virani, its austere volumes appearing gradually against the sky, its colour changing by the hour of the day and the season. To enter, one must step through a pointed-arch portal to the grey-marble-paved courtyard. A white-marble stair by a fragrant, white plumeria leads to the large terrace at the building's second storey, enjoying unobstructed, 360-degree views of the impeccably preserved settlement of Hydra embracing the picturesque port, the Saronic Gulf up to the mountains of the Peloponnese and the southern suburbs of Athens, and the island's rocky landscape that turns green after the autumn rains. The main entrance to the house is located at this grand terrace, the Virani's public square, as it were, its principal social space during the many months of good weather. The elaborate pattern of the floor highlights the central role of this terrace in the life of the Virani. The large marble table magnifies the contours of the roof eaves, defying gravity and undermining material expectations.

At the house's nodal point, a spacious entrance hall dominated by a steel-and-timber bookcase that rises beyond the ceiling gives access to all other areas of the house. Its grey-and-white floor pattern alludes to its function as a welcoming concourse where flows of movement meet. The other areas on this storey are paved in cool white Dionysos marble, whereas the ground floor is a quieter grey Kokkinaras marble. At one end, the kitchen is accessed through a wide arch at the point where the house's two perpendicular volumes meet, inspired by one at the eighteenth-century monastery that dominates the port of Hydra. A room for collective cooking and leisure, it includes a sitting area with built-in divans and 180-degree views. The cast-iron stove is set against a gold-leaf mural on the blue polished plaster, in perpetual play with the changing light. The kitchen door to the terrace shares a generous landing with the Virani's main entrance. The former's scale, partial glazing and position off-centre in relation to the landing communicate a sense of hierarchy.

Opposite the arch, in the entrance hall, a steel-and-timber stair with treads springing from the bookshelves seduces the visitor up to the virani proper: a spacious, fifty-three-square-metre living-and-dining room that occupies the entire top floor of the house's large volume, served by windows on all four sides and a terrace open to star-lit skies and the coolest summer breezes. At the centre of the virani's south wall, between two windows that frame views to the town and the mountains, the fireplace is inspired by local ottoman paradigms. At the opposite end of the room, a sober steel desk with leather lining is positioned under the window with a view to the nearby windmill. The oak floor in this room adds warmth to the long winter evening gatherings in front of the log fire. The ceiling of the virani, under the low four-pitched roof, is painted blue. Above the three-metre-long steel dining table at the centre of the space, a lighting installation has been created: half-broken timber boards are suspended as if time had stopped at the moment when a large object came through the ceiling. The light that gushes down from the unexpected opening brings out the depth and tactility of the table's Cor-Ten-steel surface. It stands on a handcrafted steel swirling ribbon, and is definitely the virani's leading actor.

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From the entrance hall one also accesses the master bedroom, which commands spectacular panoramic views, and the marble stair that leads to the ground floor where three spacious bedrooms are located, all with intimate private terraces. Elements rooted in the local architectural heritage have been combined with a modern aesthetic of clean lines and uncluttered spaces. There are wall hangers and coat-and-hat stands but no built-in wardrobes. Exposed-concrete ceilings reference traditional wood-panelled ones, while acknowledging reinforce-concrete slabs. Colour plays a key role in the interior of the house too. The Virani has been furnished with antiques, rugs, kilims and textiles the owners have collected in their travels, and modern and contemporary pieces.

Large windows ensure ample natural light and cross-ventilation to all rooms. Passive measures such as a compact volume, thermal insulation of the entire building envelope, high U-values and low-embodied- energy materials ensure the house's low energy demand. Rainwater from all external areas of the house is stored in a large underground cistern.

During the summer months, fifty square metres of the Virani's marble-paved courtyard are filled with water. The gradually-descending swimming pool wraps around the house. Church bells, the wind which can get fierce on Hydra, and the murmur of water cascading from a two-metre-fifty drop into the pool add a sound dimension to the peaceful experience of living in the Virani. The small terraced garden is planted with lemon trees, sweet-scented jasmines and aromatic Mediterranean herbs. Made of stone and colour, with the experience of centuries of building on the Saronic island of Hydra, the Virani is designed in tune with the needs of its twenty-first-century inhabitants who wanted a home for themselves and their friends, infused with the genius loci of the historic townscape and the salty air of the Aegean Sea.