About This Project

At a fairly dense suburban area of Limassol, a 4 membered family wants to build their permanent residence. It is a corner plot with a steep morphology of a total 8m height difference

The starting point was experimentation with the volumetric and its placement to the site’s orientation and the ground’s particular topography. Because of the morphology, in order to integrate the building to the existing terrain and avoid any extra structural supporting walls, our design proposes to “semi – sunk” the ground floor into the soil.

The first floor and the main entrance lie on the road’s level. Since part of the soil is removed to create a luminous void for the ground floor, the main entrance is accessible by a small bridge. As we enter the house, the semitransparent volume welcomes the users, allowing direct views to the main yard and indicating the access to the ground floor through a metallic staircase. The skylights let the light pass through. Furthermore they create the “chimney effect” and cool the house by letting the “trapped” hot air escape at the upper levels escape through. The ground floor extends with a full glazed facade at the south and it accommodates the living room, kitchen/ dining area, office, a utility room and a guest room.  Adjacent to the office space, the void allows plenty of indirect light and air to pass through. The south openings with the north void contribute significantly to letting the users have a perception of openness instead of perceiving the underground level.

The garden extends to the south and allows the interior space to unify with the outdoor by opening the large windows. The volume of the first floor extends as a cantilever above and offers plenty of shade for the garden sitting area.

More private areas, the bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the first floor.