Perma Serifos retreat by Mold Architects – All photos are by ©Giorgos Sfakianakis.

Architecture. Perched on a north-facing slope on the Greek island of Serifos, Mold Architects‘ Perma Serifos is a five-residence retreat that steps down towards the Aegean, terrace by terrace, with quiet assurance. Rather than impose a scheme on the terrain, the Athens-based studio has worked with what was already there, treating the site as raw material to be reshaped, carved and reassembled on its own terms.

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Organised across three levels that follow the natural descent of the terrain, the retreat is built from stone excavated during construction, while remaining materials were repurposed to shape the broad horizontal terraces anchoring each residence to the ground. Perma Serifos is “an orchestrated collage of materials, textures, views and voids drawn from the landscape itself,” explains studio founder Iliana Kerestetzi.

A striking concrete grid — strict in geometry, poetic in effect — ties the entire project together. “It is not used to impose abstraction on the landscape, but to hold together its different elements.” Earth, stone, water, sunlight and native vegetation all become part of the architecture, creating spaces that feel both protected and completely connected to the Aegean Sea.

The result feels enclosed and open at once. Its three-dimensional structure carves out protected, inward-facing spaces that never lose their visual thread to the sea, sky and surrounding land — sheltered rather than sealed.

Each residence at Perma Serifos enjoys its own private outdoor oasis with a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, dining terrace and tranquil water features, while a shared gathering space hosts communal dinners, workshops and events. Large sliding glass walls erase the boundary between interiors and exteriors, letting everyday life flow effortlessly into the landscape.

Craft runs deep. Floors and built-in furnishings were cast in situ by local craftsmen, rainwater is harvested for irrigation, and the planted roofs — sown with edible species — double as insulation and larder.

Rather than becoming the main attraction, Perma Serifos proves that sometimes the most powerful architecture is the one that knows when to step aside and let the landscape take the spotlight.

Photography by Giorgos Sfakianakis, video by Mold Architects.

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