The project is situated in the southern suburbs of Nicosia, 500m from the Sp. Kyprianou south circular road. It consists of eight two-level private semi-detached houses ranging from 180 to 200m2, built on a gently sloping suburban plot. The topography of the site, a steady east-west incline, as well as the potential offered by an adjacency to a public park, has led to a linear master-plan of the eight properties set up on stepped terraces. The houses develop on two levels, with the ground floor carrying the living spaces in a largely open-plan arrangement, while the upper level accommodates four private rooms, two on either side of the centrally located patio space.
The buildings generate zones of various degrees of proximity or openness that promote new modes of urban cohabitation. The first floor patio, acts as a pivotal device allowing for a switch between an ‘introverted’ mode and an ‘extrovert’ one, while carefully crafted sets of openings and screening devices offer various modes for regulating the house’s environment as well as the relationship to its neighbors. The formal language, in tandem with the ‘ladder frame’ type structural system, allows for a ‘specific’ flexibility in reconfiguring the interior, offering the possibility to adjust to needs that arise both during the design and during the lifespan of the building.
Architects: Michael Cosmas Architecture
Project Architect: Michael Cosmas
Team: Iro Demetriou, Yiannos Orfanos.
Structural Engineering: EPS/ Nicos Kalathas
Mechanical Engineering: Polypro
Electrical Engineering: Soteriou Kyrizis
Completed 2010