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Architects: NOA architects
- Area: 756 m²
- Year: 2019
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Photographs:Agisilaou & Spyrou Photography
Headline
Single-Multi residence provides new ways to view the concept of living. The external wall is far more than just an element of division between the interior and exterior. It defines the boundary between the public and the private, between the common and the unique, the ordinary and the special, the unknown and the intimate.
General Description
The building is situated in Engomi, in a neighbourhood where lots of facilities, embassies and various services are located, in a walking distance from the Nicosia city centre.
The building is a house block composed of 5 apartments and a two-story house on the ground floor. The 3-bedroom maisonette has its own individual entrance, a parking space and a private yard. The upper floors consist of three twin bedroom apartments, one single bedroom apartment and one 4-bedroom penthouse on the last floor. On the roof, a common space area with a pool and a barbecue area is being designed.
The building is defined by a continuous vertical concrete wall which accommodates the units of this housing block. This element includes both the interior and exterior spaces in one definite form expressing the sense of protection around all aspects of domestic life and setting a large frame around it.
Concept-Context and Strategy
The project’s main goal is to set a completely new viewpoint on the concept of living and the complexity of social urban life. The points of our view affect drastically our perception for everything around us. The direction we look at something or even the frame through which we are provided a specific view can become quite important regulators. The plurality of the four different apartment typologies brings diversity in co-living, thus reflecting the vibrant spirit of contemporary urban life.
The complexity and fuzz of social urban life is balanced by the simplicity of private life that the building has to offer. The interiors of the apartments comprise of plain, spacious, luminous rooms. The design is focused in the functionality and flexibility of the spaces for multiple possibilities and scenarios. Openings of various sizes on this wall provide viewpoints from the interior to the surroundings while they also function as frames which highlight moments of private life in different expressions that take place in different spaces both indoors and outdoors.
Construction - Materials and Structure
The wall that surrounds the building and the main structure is constructed of reinforced concrete and bricks. Exposed concrete ceilings, wooden floors and white interior walls in combination with the colored framed windows are composing the main materials.
Good care is given to the energy sustainability in terms of direction of openings, sun protection and possibility for natural ventilation of the interiors. The exteriors are protected by the external wall which acts in the areas of the verandas as a second layer of the façade that regulates the light and wind thus creating a pleasant microclimate in combination with the private gardens of each apartment.
