0019 The Urban Corner House

For this project, we had a very particular challenge to tackle - How can we create a building main facade on a plot that almost has no road face? The answer was to have an edge of the proposed building to overlook the street and then build the residence functionality and morphology around this concept.

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We were inspired by "Vitra house" to shape the volume for the top floor ​as this form, not only because it could act as a standalone shape but it also satisfied the client's needs for a more unique and different approach within an urban fabric of sanitized boxes and rectangles. The pitched roof was also referenced the Cyprus traditional architecture, another element we would like to elevate in the design of this residence.

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Another challenge that surfaced was how to utilize this shape to create interesting "jewel" moment within and around the residence. This is were the ground floor orthogonal, deconstructed organization came into play. By retaining the top form in rotation and the ground floor in an orthogonal layout, we organically created interesting areas shaped by the interaction of the two floors themselves - the welcome covered space of the entrance, the covered veranda at the back and inside, the staircase that allows the visitor to feel the connection between these two floors.

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The materiality chosen for this project opted to root back to Cyprus traditional house building; stone walls for the ground floor; the "base" of the residence that supports the weight of the building and plaster for the top floor; the "lightweight" floor surging above the base. The result is a beautiful combination of both form and function combining Cyprus tradition with international elements.