M Residence is an eye-catching sight. This Greek island home looks almost alien from the air: geometric and mysterious, its upper storey sits high on a cliffside, while its base is nestled low into the ground. From above, its pizza-box shape features a series of cut-outs, reminiscent of eroded rocks on the beach that slowly emerge as the tide goes out. The project is the work of Mold Architects, a dynamic, female-founded, Athens-based practice.
Discover M Residence, a new Greek island home
The residence is located in Lia, Serifos, a small island situated between Kithnos and Sifnos – and it isn't the first time the architecture firm has worked on the island. M Residence was actually first designed in 2011, becoming one of the firm’s very first projects. It wasn't built at the time, but now, a decade later, the new owners have decided to move forward with the scheme.
‘When the client expressed an interest in building it more than a decade later, I was thrilled,’ says Iliana Kerestetzi, founder of Mold Architects, ‘I still loved the idea, but opening that folder also meant confronting an earlier version of ourselves. The challenge was to look at the work critically while committing to its future. Our thinking had changed, and a design that had remained on paper was about to become someone’s home. That gave every decision a different weight. What still felt essential? What needed to evolve?’
Although the original idea held its strength, Kerestetzi explained that they began to see new possibilities with it, telling Wallpaper*: ‘The rooms opened more generously onto the courtyards, the materials became warmer and the details quieter. The house took shape through that exchange between our earlier intentions, our present perspective and the people who would inhabit it.’
This Greek island home's volume is compact and monolithic, inspired by local monasteries. However, internally, the building features smooth curves and rejects harsh angles, allowing the visitor to transition between each room and courtyard fluidly.
‘We combined this with two other local architectural languages: the crisp, cubic rooms of the villages and the softer contours of rural buildings and dry-stone walls. Within a square outline, rooms turn gently towards different views, while curved walls connect them and draw out a sequence of seven courtyards,’ notes the architect.
When the architects focused on revising the original plan, they decided to simplify and soften it. Interior spaces were opened up towards the courtyards, creating a more protected exterior. As a result, the residence feels at once both open and entirely sheltered, with this contrast forming the conceptual heart of the project.
Perhaps the most intriguing change was how the building sits, or in this case, doesn’t sit, on the ground. The entire volume is raised on a plinth, which in turn creates a shadow line that makes it look like it is hovering. A swimming pool was also introduced, positioned outside the main volume in a geometric placement gesture.
One thing that Kerestetzi wants visitors to feel is at ease, saying: ‘A room opens into a garden, a courtyard offers shelter, a shaded corner invites a pause. The warmth of the coloured plaster and the closeness of the planting make these spaces feel intimate. We hope people move through them intuitively, finding the spot that feels right for a particular moment.’
However, she also notes that part of the intention was to allow room for the home's inhabitants to add to its character and make it their own. She explains: 'The residents have already hung a piece of white fabric beneath one of the roof openings. It filters the light and moves gently, bringing a softness we hadn’t designed.’
Her favourite aspect is that the house reveals multiple facets and identities over time; the same spot easily evokes an entirely different vibe depending on light and seasons. She concludes: ‘A detail that recedes in the morning can become the most compelling thing in the afternoon.’