Status

Design Development

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Location

Nicosia, Cyprus​

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Cyprus is a country where the weather is significantly controversial throughout the year; winter is as cold as it can be, but the summer does its best to discourage you to walk outside.

 

The aim of this project was mainly to grasp the opportunity to exploit smart and ergonomic systems in order to reduce the heat significantly during the summer period, and accordingly, to acquire the desired sunlight and warmth during the winter. Therefore, a passive system has been created, functioning as a secondary skin, which can be used as a solar (screen) adjuster on particular areas along the façade, depending on the solar demands. Particularly, it can reverse its function by gaining more solar energy or it can block high wind forces during the winter. With the use of Ecotect software analysis, we have been able to determine the areas of high cooling demands and hence, from the idea of one leaf-shaped hole component on the panels, a unified perforated façade was formed. The façade is an outcome of both Ecotect software data and the desired directions of the most optimum views around the house, in combination with the internal spaces.

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The house is organized in two different levels; all the communal spaces on the ground floor and all the private ones on the first floor. The office space, as a semi-private spot in the house, is shaped on an intermediate level between the two floors, thus “breaking” the continuity of the steps and creating a stop-to-rest space. In essence, the office “loft” acts as an intermediate landing for the stairs, or a resting space where someone can spend some time reading, thinking, studying etc.

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The basic volume is a concrete base, which on one side extends higher as a double-height space, and accommodates all the communal usages; living room, kitchen with daily living space, dining hall etc. All the private spaces, such as the bedrooms and the tv-room, are organized within a rectangular volume which rests on top of the communal spaces, protruding of a 6m span on top of the back yard veranda. This volume is treated slightly differently from the ground floor volume. Particularly, it is formed by a simple rectangular shape, wrapped around with a combination of solid wall panels and the metal perforated ones, creating a semi-open space all around the façade. The light colored surfaces in combination to the suggested vegetation at selected areas around the house, contribute to the reduction of heat absorption of the building shell.