shaped like cubic prisms, kapsimalis architects' hotel rooms echo cave houses in santorini

Kapsimalis Architects Layers Hotel rooms on Santorini’s Cliffside

Located in the village of Oia on the island of Santorini, Greece, Canaves Hotel, designed by Kapsimalis Architects, occupies a site overlooking the Caldera, with direct views toward the volcano and the Aegean Sea. The project combines a preserved traditional cave house with a newly constructed complex of five hotel rooms. The architectural intervention proposes a contemporary strategy of integrating hospitality functions within the morphological and spatial framework of the village.

The entrance to the hotel rooms takes place from its west and north side, via the public pedestrian street and through the two main exterior staircases of the complex. Taking into account the shape of the plot, the slope of its natural terrain, its relation with the pedestrian street, and the neighboring properties, as well as the optimal orientation towards the view, the individual rooms of the hotel complex were placed in a stepped manner and in a rhythmic backsliding and twist from each other. Specifically, the complex consists of four rooms on four different levels in the ground floor, and one room on two different levels on the upper floor. Each room of the ground floor comprises an open plan living space and bedroom area with its bathroom, as well as a private exterior yard with its lounge area and its plunge pool. The upper floor’s room comprises a living room and a bedroom with its bathroom, as well as two private exterior verandas with lounge areas and one semi-open plunge pool space.

all images by Yiorgos Kordakis

Material Precision and Spatial Balance Define Hotel’s Interiors

Kapsimalis Architects Studio’s design aims to create a composition of rooms-cubist prisms, with reference to the scale and form of the existing white cubist architecture of the traditional village, and on the specific typology needs of the hospitality use. In the context of accomplishing the desired view and microclimate, the openings of the complex are designed with certain geometries and proportions, so as to contribute to the fluidity of the internal & external space. Parts of freestanding exterior walls, placed vertically between the yards, as well as scattered green elements, contribute to the division of exterior areas, without obstructing the view and the natural light. The composition through the creative reinterpretation and interrelation of the above reference points leads to the formation of a balanced net of forms and spaces with a minimalist architectural identity.

Concerning the interior of the hotel complex, off-white smooth plaster for the walls, local cement plaster for some built furniture, large slabs of dark grey marble for the floors, dark stained oak, metal works and diverse kinds of marbles for custom furniture, fabrics with different textures, mirrors, ceramic decorative pots and plates, lights made by opal glass, metal and marble, are the materials that shape the inner space and the objects that have been collected. The outer space moves in the same direction, as the colour of the exterior wall is a warm white, and its floor is a continuity of the indoor floor. The approach of the interior design is to offer an eclectic, unique style and discreet elegance that pair harmoniously with the exterior forms of the architectural composition.

room volumes are arranged in a stepped, twisted configuration

public access is provided via staircases on the north and west sides

each ground-floor unit includes a private plunge pool and lounge yard

minimalist white facades maintain harmony with the local context

balconies and openings are proportioned to frame sea views

freestanding walls define outdoor spaces without blocking light

off-white plaster walls and dark marble floors define the interiors

custom furniture uses dark oak, metal, and locally sourced stone

interior finishes balance simplicity with tactile richness

Kapsimalis Architects’ design maintains a consistent material palette throughout

the project achieves a strong connection between the interior and exterior realms

project info:

name: Small Hotel in Oia, Canaves Hotel

architect: Kapsimalis Architects | @kapsimalisarchitects

location: Oia, Santorini, Greece

photographer: Yiorgos Kordakis | @yiorgoskordakis

photography stylist: Anestis Michalis