Add To Collection
Add to Collection
Lemesos Office
Lemesos Office
Limassol, Cyprus
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
View Original
Add To Collection
Add to Collection
Lemesos Office
Limassol, Cyprus
Firm
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2010
SIZE
0 sqft - 1000 sqft
BUDGET
$100K - 500K
Photos
Architect’s own office and wife’s Dental Surgery, Limassol Cyprus.
The building is situated on a small plot on one of the narrow streets perpendicular to the beach in the old part of the town, and is about 50m from the beach.. The office is on the first floor and the surgery on the ground. They are approached via a common double height covered entrance.
My aims were to
1. Use references from traditional architecture. The building had to fit into it's surrounding environment of both traditional two storey stone and adobe single family dwellings, and some small old industrial buildings. At the same time it had to be modern, learning from traditional architecture but not copying it.
-The covered double height entrance has references to local traditional buildings. Two examples were used. An urban early 20th century block of apartments in Limassol with a covered staircase access within the main block of the building, and a rural house with an open space within the main building block.
-I addition, a neoclassical proportional system that relates to human scale, is applied to both interior and exterior surfaces and can be seen in plan, elevation and section.
2. To get inspired by the closeness of the site to the beach.
-The gravel in the decorative pond and around the fare face concrete wall is used as a reference to the locality. The wall, and the building, appears to be emerging from the beach. As if it has broken through the ground.
-At the same time the roof with its curved beams and wooden planks, is reminiscent of the hull of a ship and because it is not sitting directly on the walls, it appears to be floating in air.
3. Develop a vocabulary of using opposites to recreate experiences.
-Like music, Architecture needs to touch our senses. To do this, opposites need to be combined. In music is quick/slow, melodic/rock. In architecture, is open/enclosed, dark/brightly lid, hot/cold, hard-soft, heavy-light. Is these opposites that wake up our senses and give us a sense of belonging.
-The lightweight steel and locally sourced warm timber roof is set against the heavy and cool concrete curved wall. As a result the warm feels warmer and the cool feels cooler, giving one a sense of belonging.
4. Use the design as an active contributor to business success, in relation to branding, employment satisfaction, recruitment success, and general productivity as a whole.
-The common double height covered entrance is an invitation to the public and at the same time provides the employees with means of visual communication, engagement, and comfort, without sacrificing their privacy. At the same time it links the two floors together into one unifying whole. This is emphasized by the design of the bookshelves, artificial lighting and suspended ceilings. The bookshelves on the ground floor appear to puncture the floor and continue to the first floor. This has the added effect of making the building appear much bigger that it really is. Its a game with scale that I like playing when designing most of my buildings.
-When the medical partition is removed at night, the dental chair can be seen from the street advertising its presence. This way, no signs are necessary, and are replaced by a much more powerful way of making a presence.
-The absence of doors between the surgery and reception and the small garden and water feature, helps to make the surgery patients feel less intimidated and more comfortable.
5. Use an environmentally friendly approach to space heating and cooling, and water sourcing and recycling.
-Walls are 55-75cm thick, made out of aerated concrete blocks, with thermal resistance well above that of the traditional adobe wall.
-There is correct building orientation and large roof overhangs.
-Under floor heating is assisted with solar heated vacuum tubes.
-Cooling is assisted with buried pipes using a geothermal approach.
-Water to the toilets is from a well.
-Grey water is treated and rainwater is harvested and used for the small garden and pond.
The building is situated on a small plot on one of the narrow streets perpendicular to the beach in the old part of the town, and is about 50m from the beach.. The office is on the first floor and the surgery on the ground. They are approached via a common double height covered entrance.
My aims were to
1. Use references from traditional architecture. The building had to fit into it's surrounding environment of both traditional two storey stone and adobe single family dwellings, and some small old industrial buildings. At the same time it had to be modern, learning from traditional architecture but not copying it.
-The covered double height entrance has references to local traditional buildings. Two examples were used. An urban early 20th century block of apartments in Limassol with a covered staircase access within the main block of the building, and a rural house with an open space within the main building block.
-I addition, a neoclassical proportional system that relates to human scale, is applied to both interior and exterior surfaces and can be seen in plan, elevation and section.
2. To get inspired by the closeness of the site to the beach.
-The gravel in the decorative pond and around the fare face concrete wall is used as a reference to the locality. The wall, and the building, appears to be emerging from the beach. As if it has broken through the ground.
-At the same time the roof with its curved beams and wooden planks, is reminiscent of the hull of a ship and because it is not sitting directly on the walls, it appears to be floating in air.
3. Develop a vocabulary of using opposites to recreate experiences.
-Like music, Architecture needs to touch our senses. To do this, opposites need to be combined. In music is quick/slow, melodic/rock. In architecture, is open/enclosed, dark/brightly lid, hot/cold, hard-soft, heavy-light. Is these opposites that wake up our senses and give us a sense of belonging.
-The lightweight steel and locally sourced warm timber roof is set against the heavy and cool concrete curved wall. As a result the warm feels warmer and the cool feels cooler, giving one a sense of belonging.
4. Use the design as an active contributor to business success, in relation to branding, employment satisfaction, recruitment success, and general productivity as a whole.
-The common double height covered entrance is an invitation to the public and at the same time provides the employees with means of visual communication, engagement, and comfort, without sacrificing their privacy. At the same time it links the two floors together into one unifying whole. This is emphasized by the design of the bookshelves, artificial lighting and suspended ceilings. The bookshelves on the ground floor appear to puncture the floor and continue to the first floor. This has the added effect of making the building appear much bigger that it really is. Its a game with scale that I like playing when designing most of my buildings.
-When the medical partition is removed at night, the dental chair can be seen from the street advertising its presence. This way, no signs are necessary, and are replaced by a much more powerful way of making a presence.
-The absence of doors between the surgery and reception and the small garden and water feature, helps to make the surgery patients feel less intimidated and more comfortable.
5. Use an environmentally friendly approach to space heating and cooling, and water sourcing and recycling.
-Walls are 55-75cm thick, made out of aerated concrete blocks, with thermal resistance well above that of the traditional adobe wall.
-There is correct building orientation and large roof overhangs.
-Under floor heating is assisted with solar heated vacuum tubes.
-Cooling is assisted with buried pipes using a geothermal approach.
-Water to the toilets is from a well.
-Grey water is treated and rainwater is harvested and used for the small garden and pond.
Product Spec Sheet
Were your products used?
Join as a manufacturer to add your products.