Philolaos’ house of steel

Philolaos was born in Larissa, Thessaly region of Greece, in 1923 (he died in Paris at age 87). He and his brother Takis, who later became a renowned photographer, were experimenting with materials next to their woodworker father and their grandfather, a metalsmith. Philolaos started working on his ideas at his father’s carpentry shop before entering the School Of Fine Arts in Athens in 1944. His studies are interrupted by civil war and his military duty.

In 1950 he moved to study in France at the School Of Fine Arts in Paris. He soon discovered the little city of Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, 25 km from the French capital, where he taught ceramics for years, then finally bought a land to build a U shaped house in the woods with no architectural training. It was built in 1974. 

He lived there with his wife Marina and raised their two kids, Isabel and Yorgo (who is now a famous art director), in this simple interior. As the structure was part house, part studio, some furniture were integrated in concrete, and other pieces were created in his home. He worked in mostly stainless steel, as well as wood and marble. From the stainless steel toilets to the molded chairs, the sculptural TV units or the water-throwing sculptures in the garden’s basin, Philolaos created a house that looks just like his artwork - a mix of brutalism and pureness, very modern yet timeless, in a very Greek fashion. According to his words, his house was his finest piece of art.