On the 12th of August 1953 an earthquake struck the island of Kefalonia (Greece) and destroyed most buildings on the Island. Timber kit houses (“lyomena”) were sent from abroad to be erected quickly after this.We were commissioned to renovate one of these kit houses to create a family holiday home.

These houses hold an important place in the memory of Kefalonians and in the built heritage of the island.

Despite this, they are often demolished and replaced by concrete structures. This project aimed to explore an alternative approach.

We aimed to keep the building envelope which gives the house its identity, functions well and is in good condition. We replaced the internal slab, which had collapsed, and inserted a new interior.

New partitions were located on the existing grid to better locate rooms according to the micro-climate of the site and its gardens. The north-east facade had a large opening cut into it opening the house to an existing shaded, north-east terrace and connecting the interior with the surrounding gardens.