A narrow dirt road zigzags up the hillside through the former orchards and vineyards. Today, in many places, only the long, narrow plots, a few wild fruit trees and the rambling, tiny cellars remind us of the once orderly agricultural landscape.

The “house on the vineyard” was built on such a long, relatively narrow, sloping lot for a family with four children.

We wanted the scale and shape of the building we were designing to be in keeping with the previous traditional construction of the area, but at the same time to meet the space requirements of the family of six, which was giving us quite a headache.

When we looked at the installation options, it was clear that much of the internal space would be below ground level. We wanted a functional solution that would not overstretch the frame.

The centre of family life, the compact living room with dining area and kitchen, is a traditional, white, house-shaped volume of about 50 m2 that rises above the ground at the side. Its ridge runs parallel to the slope and its gable overlooks the valley. Seen from a distance, it continues the line of small buildings that appear as tiny bright dots in the landscape.

The open roof makes the living room feel very spacious. A small gallery extends just above the dining room, which is actually a work area separated from the living room. It separates the space, but those who work here remain part of the family life.

The furniture is restrained, elements built in the living room and on the terrace complement the basic pieces carefully selected by the owner, such as the bench that runs along the front of the gable wall and is integrated into the fireplace, or the seating combined with terrace storage.

The negative log form, carved out of the archetypal mass, extends like a porch along the long side of the house, while the pergola, closely linked to it and covered with wild grapes, recalls the shady pergolas of former small gardens.

The huge window facing the hillside and the covered open spaces with large apertures, which are closely connected to the house, blur the lines between inside and outside, and the focus is clearly on the panorama.