Zephyros Villa by Koutsoftides Architects
Koutsoftides Architects designed the Zephyros Villa in Pomos, Cyprus.
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Zephyros Villa by Koutsoftides Architects
“The shadow of your project is captured in the landscape, so you must first hearken it” said Renzo Piano.
From the early stages of the elaboration of the sketches we had in mind these words of the great architect. We tried to extrude those elements which would contribue and reflect these thoughts so building and landscape become one:to receive at any time of the day and night,regardeless season the glorious sun,the Zephyros,the magestic blue sea and the mysterious silver moon of August,as when we were kids going camping and enjoying nature,so the users can embrace all the elements under one…permanent camping tent!
The house was initially designed as a holiday house.In the process ,our clients decided to leave London and come to reside in Cyprus.
Despite the fact that originally the house was meant to be used for holidays the clients decide to have …permanent holidays!
The main floor is devided into two by inserting in the middle a generous patio and a pool. Living in Cyprus is basically living outside, due to weather conditions , so we have decided to emphasize this by creating a patio with multiple faces. The sliding roofs retract to expose the sky, whilst the wooden screens , when opened , invite the surrounding nature to be part of the house.
The house faces north at the small fishing harbor of Pomos which was our focal point. The location and the orientation of the property creates a soothing feeling of calmness ,whilst the proximity of the cliff and the surrounding fields with lemon ,orange and pin trees add a blend of smells , mixed with thyme and other aromatic wild plants.
Living in this house is being exposed to the elements , whilst being protected , like going camping , enjoying every moment of the day and night.
Visit the Koutsoftides Architects website – here.
Photography by Costas Koutsoftides, Costas Efstathopoulos and Christos Papantoniou
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Maira Evans on 02 May 2011 at 1:01 pm #
There are several interesting elements in that project, i.e. how the sun is kept out or let in accordingly, how every room overlooks the lap pool and how outside spaces are embraced. However, there seem to be some technical problems, i.e. do you have to go round the house to get on the other side of the pool? or circle the house to get from one room to the other? Do you have to go outside (during winter months) to get from the bedroom to the kitchen etc. Also blue led lights do not complement the house. All in all an interesting approach to the Mediterranean style of living.