Kelly Spanou Strips a Tinos Farmhouse Back to Stone and Concrete

Architect Kelly Spanou has completed House in Tinos, a 115-square-metre renovation and extension on the Greek island of Tinos that strips away decades of alterations to expose stone masonry and concrete structure from conflicting construction periods. Completed in 2025, the two-level house follows the natural slope of its terrain.

The building began as a "keli" — a modest rural structure typical of Tinos's agricultural landscape. Before the project started, it had already undergone extensive renovation: a concrete structural system had been inserted, and much of the original material character lay hidden behind plasterboard, false ceilings, partitions and applied finishes.

What did the architect remove first?

According to the architects' project description, the first design operation "was therefore one of subtraction." Layers came off so the physical structure of the house could "become present again."

The demolition revealed stone masonry alongside concrete slabs, columns and beams from different eras. Spanou retained and exposed both, letting their contrast become part of the architecture. Workers also removed the existing industrial floor finish, uncovering a patchwork of concrete beneath.

Cracks, marks and irregularities stayed. The design, the architects state, embraces the building's existing irregularities, material imperfections and traces of different construction periods "rather than attempting to erase them."

How does the new layout work?

On the ground level, Spanou added an extension to the main volume to house an additional bedroom and bathroom. Rather than regularizing the building's non-orthogonal geometry, the new layout works with it.

A monolithic kitchen island of concrete and stone sits at the center of the floor plan. It concentrates the primary kitchen functions while letting movement flow freely around it.

Wooden partition elements define individual zones, acting simultaneously as spatial dividers and storage. New window frames and redefined openings improve the house's visual connection with its surroundings. The architects restored all structural elements — beams and stone walls included — and folded them into the new spatial and material composition.

What happens outside?

A new swimming pool, an outdoor kitchen and planted areas organize circulation around the house and, in the architects' words, "establish a dialogue between the built environment and the landscape." The tactile roughness of both existing and newly introduced materials shapes an environment the architects say resonates with the character of the island.

The approach positions House in Tinos within a broader current of Greek renovation practice that treats accumulated structural history — concrete frame over stone keli — as material to be displayed, not corrected. Lorenzo Zandri photographed the project.