Completed 2011
The house was designed for a young couple with two young girls on a site located in the suburbs of Nicosia. The hot and arid climate together with the strong winds of the largely unprotected surrounding landscape became critical elements in the morphology of the project. The building tries to exclude the late western sun and the particularly strong west winds in the region but opens up to the south with the cantilevered roof preventing the summer sun but allowing the warm winter sun to heat the space. Clearstory windows enhance its passive cooling and heating capabilities on the ground floor.
The ability to sustain a comfortable environment and maintain the visual and physical connection with the vast landscape is enhanced by a system of glass sliding doors together with a series of custom-made folded and perforated metal panels. These when closed offer privacy and safety during the day but still allow for views to the south. Their perforations together with the glass sliding doors pushed aside allow for effecting cross-ventilation eliminating the need for mechanical cooling. The upper floor box is wrapped in vertical planks of wooden HPL. These allow for cross ventilation and exclude direct sunlight. The bedrooms of the two young girls and the circulation spaces on the upper floor are separated by multiple folding doors so they can operate independently or be integrated into a single space.
Photos by Marios Christodoulides, Charalambos Artemis, Christos Papantoniou