Universal housing

This proposal was prepared for a developer from London, for a site in Kato Paphos. It comprises of about 70 housing units, arranged around large outdoor areas.


The site is at the base of a rock cliff, with the opposite side facing west to the sea. The units are facing west, as well as focusing toward the center of the site. There, they surround the outdoor communal areas. After the strategy was developed, we started a working model. The strategy was tweaked considerably over the first few weeks.


Finally, there are 4 outdoor areas. On the image below, from left to right: the garden, the sqare, the park, and the swimming pool. The idea is that they correspond to traditional socializing places of the island: a private house yard/garden, a village/town square, a wooded area/forest, and the beach.

The orange shows an elevated promenade. It overlooks all the central communal areas and runs accross the whole site.

Finishing the model, we went into a bot more detail, designed the elevations of the buildings, and added more variety to the materiality of the scheme. Communal facilities, shops and a restaurant are placed near the square.

Vassili residence

Here's a project from a few months ago, a house in Deftera village. It is situated on a cliff, one that forms a rather shap corner. The plot was right on that corner, something that we used to generate the form of the building. On plan, we followed the contour lines, to create the main enclosure of the private spaces, the territory of the house.

This is a good example of a concept that is derived from the context, in this case the physical context, the topography of the site. The proposed building has a V-shape, as a result of this. The fact that is the initial of the client (Vassilis) is completely coincidential.

One leg of the V (western) houses the three bedrooms, with bathrooms. The other leg (eastern) contains the living spaces: dining room, kitchen, seating areas, lounge. The building is broken up by voids. All of these look down into the basement, and are pieces of a garden, with trees growing up through the house. Inside the V is a sheltered outdoor area, with an overflowing swimming pool.

I think thats one image too many....oh...nevermind

Faros Beach Pavilion

The pavilion was designed as a stand-alone structure, that can be quickly assembled on a beach, and provide all facilities suitable for bathers, in a simple and compact package. The structure accommodates changing rooms, showers and toilets, as well as a vending area and a basic kitchen for drinks and snack preparation. It provides a covered deck, intended as a seating area.

The whole structure sits on pile foundaions, so the pavilion is raised from the sand. Instead of fully engaging with the site, it hovers above it. A steel frame is built up from the foundations, and the interior is enclosed with sandwich metal panels. The seating deck is shaded with aluminium louvres.

The mayor of Paphos requested the design for a pavilion at the Faros (lighthouse) beach. The project ended up being a stand-alone piece that could just as easily be set up on any beach, or other outdoor area, to provide these basic facilities. This has already been considered by people in the municipality. The success of the first one wil determine whether we will see more of these.