44 DIGS.NET
| 3.24.23
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P R O F I L E | K R A K . A R C H I T E C T S
"architecture is a field
of constant pursuit and
wandering" and also
involves "a special kind
of magic."
The project is especially deferential to the
timeless Japanese principles of minimalism
and attention to detail. Embedded in the
essence of the Katana sword, Stathopoulos
explains, is a lightness and elegance of
movement that translates to Casa Katana,
as well. Symbolically, he notes, a Katana
sword requires artisan knowledge and
a great deal of refining work by human
hands until it is hardened, functional,
and aesthetically pleasing. The process,
he continues, "resembles, in an almost
religious tone, the effort and work that an
architect needs to add in order to produce
a good design."
Casa Katana is that design. Located above
the site's rocky formations—high enough to
enjoy unobstructed views and privacy at
the same time—the subterranean structure
takes shape in the form of a continuous
concrete blade done in a natural palette,
so that it might slip imperceptibly into the
landscape—its seamless, spectacular
extension. Durable and low-maintenance,
the material lends a monolithic feeling
and aesthetic to the structure. Entered
description. Predictably, it does not
receive one. Not from Stathopoulos for
whom "architecture is a field of constant
pursuit and wandering" and also involves
"a special kind of magic." The house, as he
conceives it, sits in the terrain "as if it were
made to live in its bowels a Minotaur and
the engravings of movements like another
thread of Ariadne"—a mythical Cretan
princess, daughter of King Minos—"to lead
your way inwards and from there back out
towards the light of the Libyan Sea," he
says with Homeric flourish. The dwelling
is, after all, epic, a mindbender, lacerating
the landscape while hyperresponsive to its
characteristics, climate conditions and light.
