Earthwood

"Earthwood" integrates sustainable construction technology with traditional building design methods. The project is located in Salamis, which is an island in the Saronic Gulf in Greece, to the west of Athens and at a close distance from Piraeus Port. The choice of wood as a structural material for the house is connected, aside from its bioclimatic qualities, with the wooden triremes and more specifically with the naval battle of Salamis (480 BCE), one of the most important historical events in early Greek antiquity and Western civilization. Likewise, the selection of earth as a structural material for the wall, is not only connected to the symbolic boundary where the Persian invasion was halted by the Greek allied fleet, but also with the earth itself, as a raw local material. As a result, the main challenge of the project is to think about an architectural module that can be constructed in a limited timetable, i.e. 2-4 days; that is composed of natural and recyclable materials; that is self-sufficient through renewable energy sources and sound water management, while simultaneously improving living conditions, minimizing its ecological footprint and maximizing its positive impact on the environment.