SM House

SM House was designed as a weekend or vacation house for a small family. It is situated on a steep site, a long irregular plot in Büyükhusun, one of the villages of Assos. The family asked for a simple house from which the magnificent views of the distant Aegean Sea could be appreciated. They also wanted their house to be large enough to accommodate occasional guests. While these demands and site conditions pretty much shaped the building, all of the clever decisions were made by the architects. The single-storey house stretches along the longest side of the site in one unbroken, 50-metre volume. The site was excavated down to a point where the building is invisible from above, so that it looks as if the house has been carved out of the rocks. The structure is a simple steel frame divided into equal 1.6-metre compartments and covered with local stone which is abundant in the village. Along with strong tectonic and exhilarating features, the house has something of the uncanny about it.