ONE WITH NATURE

Floating above the Ionian Sea on the island of Paxos, Octopussy villa submits to the landscape, reconciling built form with outer beauty

- Jean-Pierre Gabriel

The full scope of this project can be, and is best, grasped from a boat; like the tentacles of an octopus, the architecture, ensconced between garden and forest, stretches, unfolds and coils around the landscape.

“We wanted to offer a total experience that gently invites us to leave our daily lives behind,” states the team at Antwerp-based studio Gestalt Architects, which was behind the architectural manifesto of the design, aptly named the Octopussy villa.

To fully experience the villa, an all-terrain vehicle is needed. Depart Gaios, the main port of Paxos, and take the steep paths that descend a hill until you reach a staircase. This opens onto a patio, which signals the moment when the interior and the exterior merge as if the living space represented a transition between patio and garden, the latter announcing the blue sea. “Octopussy itself is an invitation to change your world, to leave your working life behind for the duration of your stay. More than just an owner, you become a guest of this place,” says Gert Voorjans, who co-designed the interiors of the home, which he describes as one that echoes the magic of sunset. “In this environment, you can’t limit yourself to the inside. Everything contributes to the experience of a place bathed by the waves of the Ionic Sea.