Regional Headquarters Office Building & GIS substation of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus
Eraclis Papachristou - Architects. Paphos, Cyprus
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Name of work in English
Regional Headquarters Office Building & GIS substation of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus
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Name of work in original language
Periferiaka Grafia AHK Pafos & ipostathmos kleistou tipou
Prize year
EUmies Awards 2013
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Work Location
Paphos, Cyprus
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Studio
Eraclis Papachristou - Architects
EUmies Awards 2013 Nominees
Collaborators
Program
Office
Completion
2012
A division of the plot in zones, each one of them bearing the characteristics of the transition of the closed public space, to open public to green public with an emblematic building volume which articulates the zones. Through the demands of the building program, the characteristics of the land/plot and hints of urbanity, the concept is formed and gets structured through the architectural synthesis. The contours of the plot while at the same time the urban flow of movements dictate that the first zone will be western of the public building while to the east of it there is the zone of the piazza and far more to the east the zone of the green area.
Architectural gestures are emphatic making the zones strictly defined and identifiable, but simultaneously this strict division is overruled with the unobstructed views and easy flow of movement between them, while the clear division results to easy understanding of the whole space. The site «invades» in the building while simultaneously the building expands into the site in a bidirectional active interaction, where the linear building volume acts as an articulation component of the built space to the green area. The volumes lay onto the site while the prism of the public building, in an organic manner accepts the urban flow, channelling it accordingly to the building or the green area.
The sustainability issue is addressed with the formation of the building shell itself, which is able to react to environment conditions, adjust itself (shading devices) and according to programme (public building sheltered heavily while office space glazed and sun protected). Detailing and precision level is another issue addressed in this work, while the use of a restricted palette of materials in combination with the local craftsmanship and sophisticated systems is another.