Maroni, Cyprus

 

This projects driver is to be as fully self-sufficient and sustainable as possible.
The site has beautiful views to the traditional village of Maroni, in the area of Larnaka, with the sea lying just beyond. The project is created from a series of interlocking volumes, with flexible interior and exterior walls and panels that allow spaces to grow or shrink as the users needs change; thus achieving flexibility and connection of the interior and exterior boundaries by redefining every time the threshold between them.

The site has a natural topography that allowed us to have the roof of the ground floor continue off the natural existing level. The roof of the ground floor is planted, thus one cannot differentiate between the existing ground and the new inserted plane. The only visible piece of the house is a cantilever wood clad box that hovers above ground causing a floating effect.

The structure is steel, the volumes of rammed earth. Recycled, reclaimed and local materials are used where ever possible, as well as a grey water system and photovoltaic tracking panels. Rain water is collected from the roof tops for watering the vegetation.

project: Cantilever House
location: Maroni, Cyprus
role: Lead architect
team: Subsupra studio_Alessandra Swiny, Maria Hadjisoteriou
consultants: Andros Achilleous ‘hyperstatics’ (structural) _ Yiorgos Theocharis (mechanical), Evangelos Lambaskis (electrical)
collaborators: Mark Rist
date: 2008-2011
size: plot_2000sq.m  house_325 sq.m
budget: 600,000 euro
status: pending

 

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