I almost slept in. It was about 9 when I got up - ok, for many of you that is sleeping in, but I need some serious sleep at this point. The chills and the discomfort of needing to make a restroom visit for the past few hours made it very challenging to put it off any more.
I headed downstairs and Stamatina offered me a slice of cake for breakfast. It was hard to turn it down. We chatted a bit about her vision for this place and after having eased our way into the
morning we set off outside to explore their 10 acre site. A row of quince stand in a line roughly oriented north south about 20’ east of the house. They look a bit stressed but are loaded with fruit despite the fact that many have also already fallen to the ground.
It was cool and cloudy outside, with a steady wind blowing strongly from the south. We inspected the running bamboo that has colonized the northern edge of her property as well as a dense 25’ ring in the property’s center. I actually thought it was Phragmites until she told me it wasn’t and I saw it was woody. We talked about the possibilities of using it - it has begun to spread throughout the property and I mentioned the idea of looking at it as a free and steady mulch supply - especially if they had access to a chipper. I also mentioned the idea of installing a rhizome barrier along the northern property boundary so as to set a limit to the plant’s incursion into the yard.
There are some massive olive trees on the property - a few of which are now just fallen logs but are still very impressive in their size and twisted form. There are also a few scattered poplars of mature stature at the southeastern corner. You can see the sea from their property - a narrow spit that separates the island from the mainland.
We stopped at the block/brick structure that we had originally been discussing as the subject of the natural building workshop that had first brought me to Greece. With a collapsing roof, a crumbling form, a 4m by 7m concrete slab base, and some less than optimal fenistration (window placement), we talked about options for renovation. I was torn in my recommendations and reluctant to make any specific suggestions too early on. One option would be to rebuild the roof, stabilize the building as is
and re-decorate the interior with cob detailing. Another would be to add a second floor as well to help increase the usable space.
Stamatina explained that the space would likely be used to host workshops, exhibitions, be used as a workspace and other related activities. It’s very difficult to earn permission to build on Lefkas these days, so it’s only because there’s a structure
already standing that they’re able to make use of it. If we were to re-build, it would be necessary to demolish what is already there, build a new foundation on top of the slab and then start with new walls. In many ways, this is far more desirable but I think a foundation that’s wider than 8” would be in order - likely 2 blocks wide as an ideal which would rob the already cramped interior of some much needed space.
Design considerations include earthquake resistant-ness, functionality, passive solar and aesthetics. We didn’t reach a decision but had a good discussion and brainstorm session and will revisit it as the weekend progresses.
With the children out joining us, we crossed some of the neighboring properties, through a few olive groves to the sea. There we skipped stones - some of our ‘stones’ were the smooth fragments of ancient clay bricks that dominate the shoreline. The view was very nice across the water and it was a peaceful place to be.
Most of the rest of the afternoon was pretty low key. We got some steady rain at one point - only the second day so far in over two weeks here in Greece. Apparently that’s more the norm here on Lefkas with cooler temperatures and lots of grey/rain in the winter time.
Alex did a bunch of home repair work, replacing a leaky faucet, trying to outwit the mice/rats that have moved into the ceiling, removing trash and unloading the truck. We had a very late lunch/dinner at about 4:30. I spent some time working on some scale concept drawings of the spatial redesign for the building. It was helpful to put ideals on paper. My conventional thoughts didn’t quite flow with Stamatina’s much more aesthetic vision but I think that overall we saw similar potential. We also
began to discuss the prospects and timing for a workshop next year and agreed to try to pin down dates by the end of November. This would give us a big window during which to promote and make it easier for me to work my summer schedule around it. We will see.
I spent some of the evening hours communicating with the kids to the best of my ability - much of it through drawing (I was primarily a spectator) and I really wished I was better able to understand what some of their work depicted. It was very interesting seeing them put their visions down on paper - they both were talented and seemed like they were happy to take the time to be freely creative. After we’d used up the pad of paper I’d found in the trash at my apartment room in Thessaloniki, I opened up GarageBand and we made some music together. Well, I guess you could call it music. They seemed to have fun with it.
Stamatina and Alex took an extended nap this evening and things are pretty low key here at present. I’m going to spend some time editing the footage I took during my bus trip yesterday and then call it a night. Until tomorrow.
It just started to storm outside. The southerly wind has turned warm and the lightning and thunder have grown closer, with the sky finally opening up to more rain. Very nice sleeping weather.
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