I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be inside an M.C. Escher drawing. What would it feel like? What would you see? Would you want to sit still, or would you want to explore? When looking at Piperi House by Sigurd Larsen, I can’t help but think it embodies a sense of ‘minimalist M.C. Escher’.

This contemporary Greek home in Kythnos stands as a “crystalline sculpture, cut out of a single piece of white stone”, says the Berlin-based Danish architect. An infinite circle of steps playfully break up the house into a cluster of cubes that are each set into the hillside. “We were inspired by the drawings of M.C Escher”, says Sigurd, claiming that it enabled the team to unlock the architecture and allow it to take in the many views of the neighbouring islands. And it’s a good thing they did.

The home sits within a very unique landscape; it’s one of those picture-perfect postcard moments on a hillside that projects outwards from the Kythnos Island, into the Aegean Sea. With an expansive view that overlooks the infinite sea of Greek islands, also known as the Cycladic archipelago, this home had a view that was meant to be captured. The small uninhabited Piperi Island is well and truly the diamond on the horizon and is perfectly framed from all three bedrooms, the bathtub, the dining table and the lounge. Throughout the rest of the home, a 200-degree open view of the sea is maintained.

With the expansive openings though, come the coastal winds. Looking again to M.C. Escher-esque forms, Sigurd and his team found their solution to combatting the harsh climatic conditions that come with locating a house on the edge of a cliff. “Various outdoor spaces formed by the white cubes all have different orientations, creating a windless spot regardless of its direction and strength”, shares Sigurd. “The house is also inspired by Cycladic villages, which are often defined by a vernacular of white cubes held together by white stepped alleys”.

The resulting monolithic white volumes stand in prominent contrast to the landscape of burnt browns and greens that form the backdrop to Piperi House. “The ever-changing colour of the sea and sky can be experienced from everywhere in the house”, says Sigurd, with the home cementing itself as a monolithic white sculpture set boldly into its evolving cliffscape.

Stitched together through a series of stairways, the bold white volumes of Piperi House each have a very special connection to the landscape. “The roofs of the white cubes can be accessed as elevated plateaus above the rocks”, shares Sigurd. Two staircases connect the house to the water on each side of the peninsula. One path leads to the eastern rocks and cliffs — the perfect spot to jump into the sea. The other leads to a small sandy beach for slow evening walks.

Much like M.C. Escher, Sigurd Larsen’s design for Piperi House plays with architecture and perspective to create almost ephemerally impossible spaces that connect beautifully to its picture-perfect location.

[Images courtesy of Sigurd Larsen. Photography by KKROM.]