The main construction materials on the island were slate slabs and cypress wood. The fertile soil, the abundant water resources and the weather played a role in the way the houses of Andros were constructed.
-Tower houses. The tall square tower houses owned by lords in the 17th to 19th century and located inland are an outstanding trait of Andros countryside. The oldest one of them is the three-storey Bistis-Mouvelas Tower House in Stenies.
-Single-storey or two-storey buildings with a flat roof. You will come across them mainly at the settlements of northern and central Andros.
-Two-storey urban buildings with neoclassical influences. Such buildings are mainly found in Chora and its surrounding areas, at Batsi and Ormos Korthiou. The development of shipping at the end of the 19th century led to their construction.
-Stone huts (called “kelia”). They first appeared on the island in the 17th century. The countryside is full of them. They usually have one or two floors and a single room. There used to be threshing floors near them.
-Stone fences. As is the case with Tinos, pezoules are a feature of Andros landscape as well. They are made of thin slate slabs arranged horizontally or vertically (the latter type is mainly found on Andros) in thick layers. These “sculptural compositions” made by anonymous folk craftsmen are called stimata.
