draftworks*architects designed House with Four Gardens in Nicosia, Cyprus having as central design concept the idea of the enclosed or ‘secret’ garden as part of the domestic space, an idea that can be found in traditional architecture in Cyprus, especially in Nicosia.

-text by the authors

In company with the aphid and the grasshopper

But also the spider mite, the tiger moth, the leaf

miner,

The mole and the hover-fly

The praying mantis that devours them all,

We shall be sharing leaves, petals, sky,

in this incredible garden

both they and I transitory.

 

NICOSSIENSES, Niki Marangou

The garden traditionally functioned as an incubator of natural matter and nurtured the ‘informal’ part of the domestic life. Historical references from foreign travelers to Nicosia from the 14th Century, describe the garden as a space that is surrounded by a high wall and which contains a plethora of ornamental as well as productive plants. It is described as an important part of the domestic life offering pleasant smells and noises, while at the same time it forms the historical urban identity of the city.

For this project the enclosed garden becomes part of the domestic life, and in close relevance to the daily domestic routine.

A 16 by 16 by 5 meters box includes the necessary living spaces for the daily routine. At the same time the box also includes fragments of nature, in the form of four small gardens, which are considered equally important as a divergence from the daily routine of the family. The 4 enclosed gardens also help as incubators for growing up species and testing them in local climate before relocating them in the exterior field that surrounds the house.

For the construction we have used simple materials produced by local industries, such as concrete masonry units (CMU) and white concrete units as breeze bricks. The wood and metal work is made by local craftsmen.

Drawings 

*** ‘House with Four Gardens’ won the first prize in the ‘built project’ category and the first prize in the ‘colleagues’ category of DOMa. Additionally the project is nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award 21 and nominated last year for the Piranesi Award 19.

Facts & Credits
Project title  House with Four Gardens
Location  Nicosia, Cyprus
Area  170 sq.m.
Architectural design  2015-2017
Construction  2018-2019
Completed  March 2019
Architecture  draftworks*architects
Design team  Christiana Ioannou,  Christos Papastergiou 
Consultants  Nikos Kalathas, Nikos Kypris / EPS civil eng., Christos Topouzis, Savvas Christodoulou / Eplan electrical eng., Prokopis Polydorou / Polypro mechanical eng., Stelios Makrides (QS consultant)
Photography  Maria Efthymiou / Creative Photo Room

Suppliers
Muskita Aluminium Industries Ltd, marbles/Vassos Ellinas ltd(VASE)
Ideal standard /Savvides Group, Marazzi Ceramics/Savvides Group
Grohe, CMU/DALIKOltd, DCW lights/luminary, furniture/Hemonides Design Consultants


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