Iliana Kerestetzi: "We must focus on creating spaces with a reduced energy footprint"

The head of MOLD Architects discusses with us about the project and her vision.

Alumil Team

Updated 27/01/2022

5’ read

Climate change and the challenges it brings to modern architecture, the special character of island topography, the wisdom of traditional architecture and the need to combine it with new technologies. Iliana Kerestetzi, the head of MOLD Architects, always seeks harmony through architectural composition, seeking to create functional spaces that facilitate everyday living. Among other things, he spoke to us about the Ncaved House project, which is nominated for the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe.

The role of architecture

Ms Kerestetzi, how important is the role that architecture plays in people's everyday lives?

Given that people mainly live in built environments - starting from the home or workplace to the wider environment of the neighbourhood, the city, and so on - it is the qualities of these spaces that shape their psychology and social behaviour. It is easy to understand that a functional home can facilitate living, but there are other elements in a space that - perhaps sometimes unconsciously - influence our mood, calm us down, and fill us with energy and happiness. I am referring to the harmony of volumes and materials, the exploitation of natural light, good air quality, the connection between interior and exterior spaces, and the coexistence of artificial and natural environments. These happen to be some of the key aspects of architectural composition. On a broader scale, a good urban design creates a healthy, safe, harmonious and pleasant environment for citizens. It facilitates their daily life, fostering, at the same time, a sense of responsibility for its protection and preservation.

Island landscape

Several of your works are located in Serifos, but also in other island regions, such as Paros and Crete. What is it about the Greek island landscape that inspires you and how do you combine it with your architectural philosophy?

The Greek island landscape has always been full of examples of architecture inextricably linked to the place. The way in which traditional architecture is articulated in these landscapes is extremely instructive and is the basis on which the whole philosophy of the office is built. Studying these constructions, one discovers the wisdom with which the craftsmen used whatever means they had at their disposal to survive, initially, and improve their living standards in these difficult environments. A typical example is the famous dry stone terraces which managed to keep the valuable soil flat, turning barren land into arable land. This is the philosophy we try to follow, using the data of place to respond to the contemporary needs of living and at the same time our works can become its organic parts.

Ncaved House

The Ncaved House is among the 16 Greek nominations for the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe, while the minimal aluminium systems of ALUMIL were part of its impressive design. How do you feel about the distinction of this project and how important was the choice of its aluminium systems for the final result?

It is an extremely happy occasion and we are very happy about this nomination. This project is definitely a milestone for the office and a project I am very proud of. The whole idea was to create a shelter that protects from the strong winds of the area. The main element of this peculiar "cave" was the large frames with a view to the sea to the east and the internal atriums to the west, unifying all the interior spaces with the landscape. This is exactly what ALUMIL's minimal aluminium systems helped to achieve. We used the sliding system SUPREME S650 of the PHOS series and this choice proved us right, with its functionality and sophisticated design.

Environmental challenges

Bioclimatic design and energy-efficient housing is the stakes of the decade based on the European Union's Agenda 2030. In our country, programmes such as the "Exoikonomo" energy saving program, give incentives to citizens to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes. As an architect, how do you deal with contemporary environmental challenges?

As architects, we have the opportunity - if not the obligation - to operate with absolute awareness of the huge problem of climate change and to propose, through our projects, solutions. At a global level, the architectural community is mobilised with a number of architectural competitions and exhibitions (e.g. this year's Venice Biennale), where large-scale innovative proposals for tackling the crisis are presented. On a smaller, and more immediately applicable, scale, however, we also need to focus on creating spaces with a reduced energy footprint, using both active and passive systems. In addition to the use of new technologies, it is important to continue to refer to tradition, where the calculated use of local materials and simple methods have always produced very energy efficient solutions.

Defining moment

Tell us about a moment in your career that you consider a key moment in your development.

It was definitely the construction of my first project, a holiday home in Serifos. Not having a completed project and just starting my professional activity, it was a great luck for me that a man entrusted me with the design and construction of this project. I remember moving to the island for the first time for 1.5 years, which I spent with great enthusiasm, mainly on the construction site. After many years of study and theories, to see your idea take shape and change and grow every day is truly moving and magical. After this project, which was awarded and received a lot of publicity, the office started to establish itself in the field and started receiving proposals for projects - mainly for holiday homes and tourist units all over Greece.

Architecture & pandemic

The last two years have been particularly difficult and demanding for all of us. The coronavirus pandemic motivated some really creatively, while for others it took more time to get back to normal. How did you manage all these changes and how did they affect your professional activity?

Having maintained two offices, one in Athens and one in Serifos, remote collaborations and telecommuting were concepts we were already familiar with. With the advent of the pandemic, the office almost entirely operated from the island, where we did not experience any extreme change in daily life, as was the case in the big cities. Instead, we experienced a period of calm, a slower pace and creativity. Without, of course, wishing to downplay the enormous problems and economic destruction caused by the pandemic, I would like to focus on any positive aspects that such a condition can have. I hope that the end of the pandemic will leave us all a little stronger, more aware and more mature.