Dug into the mountainside and built with the very earth excavated to make space for it, Xerolithi House is a natural, earth-sheltered home—designed both as a refuge from the elements and as a seamless extension of its environment.
Inspired by the region’s dry stone walls—called xerolithies—and built using the same mortarless technique, the home mirrors the agricultural terraces and crumbling historic dwellings that once shaped this Cycladic landscape. Its curving stone walls rise like ribbons along the slope, offering protection from harsh winds and fast-moving wildfires, while blending almost invisibly into the terrain.
To preserve this connection to place, architect George Sinas rejected the typical whitewashed forms of Greek island architecture in favor of long, low stone walls that echo the land’s past use. Each section gently shifts and bends with the hillside, creating a series of narrow, sheltered spaces. A dirt-and-vegetation-covered roof furthers the illusion of disappearance, allowing the home to nestle into the mountain as if it had always been there.
Inside and out, traditional materials shape the space—thick raw wood beams, hand-woven bamboo ceilings, and the same local stone used for centuries. Even indoors, the pergola-style roof follows the natural curves of the building, with beams arranged like vertebrae and bamboo woven in a fishbone pattern, casting soft, textured shadows throughout the home.
The home recently faced its first real test: a wildfire swept across the surrounding mountainside. Thanks to the earth-sheltered design and stone construction, the house remained untouched—only the bamboo pergolas suffered light scorch marks, a testament to the resilience of the structure and its materials.
Xerolithi is a modern interpretation of traditional building — a house shaped by landscape, climate, and centuries of local knowledge.
https://www.sinasarchitects.gr/
On *faircompanies: https://faircompanies.com/videos/he-excavated-earth-sheltered-home-of-dry-stone-into-rugged-seacliff/
Πολυ ωραιο σπιτι! Ειναι μπαμπου η ειναι καλαμια ?
Imperfections aren’t mistakes.
They make something real.
A song with zero flaws, every note perfect, feels fake. A human couldn’t have sung it.
We are fully capable of feeling the difference.
Wow, I love this house. It’s amazing. I’ve never seen such a natural, hidden structure. It’s spectacular! The option of the many doors instead of a huge sliding glass window for protection from the elements was creative and smart.
I get the feeling this is a second/vacation home
I could be wrong though 😊
The house is so beautiful as is the landscape. What a distraction the filming & questioning or interviewer was. I really think this whole thing could have been done so much better.
I love this house. An earth and rock house that is still light-filled; perfect!
Beautiful place. Needs a pergola or covered porch on the front else it looks exceptionally lifeless, bare and unfinished. It would be good to also add gabion walls to outline some of the edge terraces and some sort of additional wind break(s) on the front. Lastly, I feel like this home really should have tons of rainwater collection, multiple retention pond storages and possibly a fountain to keep all the water moving. Could easily keep the sparse vegetation hydrated much longer.
This guy is smart and definitely has his stuff together!
Pretty cool!
Would love to go to Greece
A wonderful house. Brilliant.
Has the house experienced magnitude 6 or above earthquake yet? This could become a crypt in the forseeable future. On the bright side, think of all the money funeral industry won't make.
I wondered where John Malcovich was hiding these days
I would have loved to see the kitchen.
Homes with Grand Vistas always look like they would have difficult access for Groceries, Utilities, and Emergency services….and they usually do.
A very boring man who built a very interesting house.
"" Look at the walls, no mortar"" You can plainly see the mortar, lol
Like 20 metres down the hill are the neighbours ?
That and also many others nearby using local materials and subterranean design.
"Last summer there waas a wildfire here" HMMMMM I wonder how they got permts to build there.
Rainfall? Well? Earthquakes?
The craftsmanship of the home is incredible. Can't imagine the painstaking man-hours it took to build it. The views are to die for.
A Greek named George, imagine that! 😁 Beautiful build, amazing views. 🤘
One earthquake, gone. Guy has too much time and money. Just do it right and don't play.
I still can’t believe that stone doesn’t have any mortar. That’s crazy.
Just rich people showing off how much money they have under the guise of being so-called environmentally friendly.
Everyone else has small cottages but this clown needs to build a huge monstrosity.
the best house ever
2:23 – I see this, and I know the house will be at least partly destroyed by falling boulders in the future.
Living in Christchurch, NZ, where we had 11,000 earthquakes in 2 years made me understand about where, and where not, to build a home.
And right underneath an unstable, and very steep rock face is not the place for me!
Now, don't get me wrong – that's just me. It is clear the owner has assessed the risk, and found he can live with it. And that is him as human being, deciding what he wants. More power to him! As for myself, I would visit it, and marvel at it, but I would politely decline an invitation to stay the night. Murphy has a lot to answer for.
…Kind of Santa Fe on acid.
It makes me sad knowing it used to be covered in forests! This is definitely not the natural landscape!
She has a LOT of negative Comments and he just ignores her Annoying Remarks. I would HATE to live with her in THE SAME HOUSE!! THAT ANNOYING VOICE!!!
Good design