page_title: Agios Konstantinos, Samos
section_title: Traditional Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Agios Konstantinos, Samos / Traditional Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Mvskoke: Προπολεμική φωτογραφία του Αγίου Κωνσταντίνου όπου φαίνονται τα βαρέλια του κρασιού.
context_page_description: Agios Konstantinos is a coastal village on the northern shores of the Greek island Samos between the island’s two major towns Karlovasi west 10 km by road and Vathy east 20 km by road.
  The village faces the waters of the Aegean Sea. Stretched behind a narrow pebble beach and a protective stone wall Agios Konstantinos ascends into a patch work of stepped garden plots and forest intermittent by agricultural canals that ultimately source from natural streams further up the mountain. Agios Konstantinos strictly consists of two zones. A narrow beachfront zone flanked by the main Vathy-Karlovasi road above and the sea below is referred to as Agios Konstantinos itself, while a zone across the main road elevates to form Ano Agios Konstantinos.
context_section_description: Early photographs of Agios Konstantinos from around 1900 help reveal the architecture dating as far back as 1800.  These photographs typically show Agios Konstantinos as a stretch of beachfront houses near a pebble beach close to the water. The houses are mostly dual-level, but a few are single-level.  Evident also in the styling is a Near East influence reflecting the close proximity to Asia Minor.
  Early houses were typically built on a prepared stone ground layer that allowed construction of a rectangular stone perimeter for external walls with openings for doors and windows.  For a dual-level home the lower and upper levels were segmented using parallel beams the width of the house covered with boards to establish the lower level ceiling and the upper level floor.  To partition rooms interior wooden walls were prepared and covered with narrow horizontal wooden strips and then in plaster.  The window opening had ledges prepared from lightweight materials such as boards coated with plaster, then dressed with wooden panels with two or four folds for opening and closing.  Balconies and glass were generally absent since the harsh weather from the sea and the fragile materials then available prevented these.  The upper level was then finished once more using beams to form a second ceiling but instead covered with roof titles.
  The lower level of early houses could serve one of several purposes including storage for produce or equipment, an animal pen, or as a shop such as cafe, goods shop, tailor shop, shoe shop, etc.  The upper level served for sleeping, cooking and living space.  Access to the upper level was by a staircase, which could be either external or internal.
  Later homes built after the union with Greece (1912) are often found in the second row from the sea behind the beachfront homes.  These are found constructed using similar methods to the beachfront homes, but some are with small central balconies and generally have a more neoclassic appearance which was popular in many Greek cities and larger towns in the interwar period, as can be seen in nearby Karlovasi.  Earlier buildings were also often updated to reflect the newer styling.
  Behind the beachfront row homes often found is a garden or farm plot used to provide fresh produce for the adjacent houses.  This however, typically does not include grapevines since these were instead usually grown in estates outside the settlement. During periods of intensive agrarian activity small lodges called ‘Kalyvia’ outside the main settlements were often used by field workers and farmers for temporary accommodation.  Closer to or within the village however are found wineries as well other light industry buildings such as olive oil mills.
caption: Houses and rows of barrels on the beach of Agios Konstantinos, pre-war.
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