Often the intricacies of understated projects that seem ordinary can only be brought out through photography. While the experience of living in a beautiful building is different from looking at one—rustic concrete can be too cold, double height spaces can feel domineering, maximal interior designs can be too cluttered for productivity—good architecture, and residential architecture, in particular, will always be a negotiation between functionality and aesthetics. Moreover, in a world governed by social media, buildings are often consumed through their image and these become more representative of structures than their corporeal form. Residences become aspirational spaces as well as places of relaxation and sanctuary.

This notion of aspirational architecture that is advocated by images works in structures built for temporary occupation—cafes, installations, holiday homes, hotels—in spaces built to be admired and used occasionally, like a nice coat. A bare cube stark against the jagged rocks and temperate rural vegetation, Simple Architecture’s House in Sozopol represents the idea of a building that is meant to be consumed through images, a view of an ideal lifestyle encased in pristine white walls. Located near the town of Sozopol in Bulgaria and overlooking the Black Sea, the project, meant to be a summer residence is a reconstruction exercise of an existing house.

The brief asked for the conversion of the traditional geometries of the original home into a contemporary design. As the lead architect states, “The intention was to strip away unnecessary complexities and create a design that embodies simplicity and minimalism.” This is emphasised through the blank walls and the pure white residential interiors.

Writing about the proliferation of white walls in modernist architecture, architectural historian Mark Wigley argues for how the plain element, often unconsidered in architecture criticism was an integral tool for the dissemination of the modernist style. As he goes on to show, a white wall is always more than just a white wall, not a stripping away of ornament, but an ornament in its own demureness. Here, the use of the white walls by the architects is an intentional move to create a light, ethereal atmosphere for the villa design and distinguishing it from the traditional architecture in its context.

Moreover, white becomes a neutral backdrop to display the residents’ art collection while framing the ever-changing vistas of the azure sea through various openings in the façade design. While the structure of the original building was retained and exposed in the refurbishment, alterations were made to the facade and roof to ensure the requirements of the residents were met. A punctured exterior shell with cutouts and openings that look out to the sea allows the residents to enjoy the natural landscape while various outdoor spaces, lounge areas and the courtyard, each planned to provide a unique experience heightens the sense of connection to the natural.

The ground floor, situated on a low cliff, includes communal spaces such as the living room and dining area, and the bedrooms occupy the first floor, with every space looking out to the lively sea. Playing up the idea of imitating an art gallery through its bare interiors, the furniture designs chosen for the residence feature plastic, abstract and non-standard forms. From the walls to the furniture to the spacious layouts, the residential design suggests that it isn’t meant for everyday use, but for depicting an ideal lifestyle, which the images do well.

With the lighting design throwing up soft light on the white walls, and the natural light flushing the ivory interiors, each image brings out the poetry of the space captured in a particular moment. Each, to a degree feels almost staged, reminiscent of architectural photographer Julius Shulman and his work with the case study houses. Just like he captured an airy, ethereal, Californian way of living, the images of the summer residence depict an idyllic Balkan summer.

A simple project in all its starkness, the design for the private residence by the Bulgarian architects brings together minimalism, refined taste and the natural for spaces that feel relaxed, and look immaculate against their context.