Flashback: Maria’s Residence
FLASHBACK: MARIA’S RESIDENCE
Vardastudio Architects & Designers
ARCHITECTS
Varda Studio
LOCATION
Paphos, Cyprus
CATEGORY
Houses
PROJECT YEAR
1999
PHOTOGRAPHS
Pambis Iakovou
Text description provided by architect.
The house is located outside of Paphos centre, in Geroskipou. In order to build the comfortable house for the customers, the architect has paid attention to their requirements:
three bedrooms. Big veranda, a space for family and a special space for celebrations and events, the house has to be located far from the road. The customers preferred classical features in the outside.
The architect’s idea was to create a “neutral space” that he learnt in London. The purpose was to build a house, that the customers could give their own character without changing building’s architectural form.
A house for Cypriots consists of 4 events: 1) space for family 2) space for guests 3) space for sleeping 4) external space.The plan of the house was made having in mind the first three events in a rectangle boxes.
The three boxes are located with a way that they use the environmental advantages of the area. They are connected with a central corridor. The inner and the outer parts are the part of the composition.
The architect and the civil engineer chose the conventional/standard construction for building. Walls are made of concrete and mediterranean plastered bricks.
Floors are made of granite, except bedrooms, where parquet (wooden floor) was used. A model (maquette) helped the technicians to understand better the construction of the building.
In the end, the experience of this construction made the architect more confident, that the constructions that are not the usual ones can be made with the best collaboration of the architect, the civil engineer and the customers.
The house represented Cyprus in the 6th Mies Van Der Rohe European awards of architecture in Barcelona. It was also nominated for the president of the republic of Cyprus national award for architecture. The project is widely published in Cyprus and Europe.
