fisherman’s shelter becomes a meditative retreat in façade’s renovation on milos island

Façade revives the spirit of the sirma on Milos

In the coastal landscape of Milos, Façade studio’s Siridi transforms a traditional fisherman’s shelter, known locally as a sirma, into a meditative space. The project engages the vernacular architecture of the Cyclades with quiet sensitivity, preserving the carved rock form of the shelter while introducing minimal interventions.

Sirmas, the brightly painted boat shelters that dot the coastline of the Greek island, once served as winter refuges for fishermen and their vessels. Carved partly into the rock, their rear portions formed natural caves, while their constructed facades opened directly to the sea. Over time, many were converted into living spaces, their utilitarian origins softened by domestic life. In Siridi, Façade returns to this duality between protection and exposure using the sirma’s anatomy to explore how traditional Cycladic architecture can be redefined through contemporary means without losing its essence.

all images courtesy of Façade

the boat becomes an adjustable table

The Greek architects describe the Siridi project as ‘living in the in-between.’ Guided by the etymology of sirma, derived from the Greek word for ‘to drag’ or ‘to pull’, the intervention celebrates the motion and temporality embedded in these dwellings. 

Façade honors each element, maintaining the integrity of the original form. The sleeping area remains carved into the rock, the rough stone left visible beneath a veil of white limewash.  Near the entrance, the kitchen and shower mark the rhythm of summer life, connecting the acts of bathing, cooking, and gathering to the landscape beyond. Light filters through the narrow openings, tracing the passage of the day across stone surfaces that hold the memory of salt and wind.

A single movable object, a long wooden table that slides along the length of the space, recalls the motion of the boat once pulled ashore. Its mobility allows it to shift roles throughout the day, becoming a work surface, a dining table, or a resting point. Painted in the same shade of blue as the sirma’s door, the table mirrors the boat’s presence, maintaining a symbolic link to the fisherman’s craft. 

Siridi transforms a traditional fisherman’s shelter, known locally as a sirma, into a meditative space

metallic net and blue door as living memory

Behind the kitchen, a delicate stainless-steel grid defines the auxiliary spaces, echoing the fisherman’s metallic net, known locally as siridi. This mesh-like partition allows air and light to move freely while delineating zones. 

Externally, the facade remains almost untouched. The wooden blue door, a recurring motif across the fishing villages of the Milos island is preserved, embodying the continuity of Cycladic vernacular and serving as a reminder of the sirma’s origins. Façade resists the pressures of touristic transformation that have reshaped many island dwellings, instead proposing a model of adaptive reuse.

the wooden blue door, a recurring motif across the fishing villages of the Milos island is preserved

the sleeping area remains carved into the rock

connecting the acts of bathing, cooking, and gathering to the landscape

a delicate stainless-steel grid defines the auxiliary spaces

this mesh-like partition allows air and light to move freely

project info:

name: Siridi
architect Façade | @facade_studio

location: Milos, Cyclades, Greece

lead architect: Haris Oikonomou

design team: Maria Roumelioti, Marousa-Nektaria Korontzi

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edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

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