19/015
Kyriakos Miltiadou
Architect
Nicosia
19/015
Kyriakos Miltiadou
Architect
Nicosia
«Architecture is in a conscious dialogue with life, the structure of the society, the city, and the time we live in.»
«Architecture is in a conscious dialogue with life, the structure of the society, the city, and the time we live in.»
«Architecture is in a conscious dialogue with life, the structure of the society, the city, and the time we live in.»
«Architecture is in a conscious dialogue with life, the structure of the society, the city, and the time we live in.»
Please, introduce yourself.
My name is Kyriakos Miltiadou. I am an architect based in Nicosia, Cyprus. I studied architecture at the Aristotle University, Greece, and I continued my studies at the Bartlett School of Archıtecture, UCL. In my practice, Ι am interested in generating spaces that unfold a story: a story that can be imagined, visualized, and built. At a research level my work lies between architecture, art practices and memory studies. At this intersecting space I investigate the composition of a visual language that can explore new layers of meanings emerging from contested sites.
How did you find your way into the field of architecture?
Since my early childhood I remember myself engaging in drawing, painting, observing the built environment and its interaction with humans. All these stimuli have gradually indicated a path towards the field of architecture. I really began to approach the real meaning of architecture during my studies at the Aristotle University. And yet this exploration is still ongoing.
What does your working space look like?
What is the essence of architecture for you personally?
For me architecture is a complex, dynamic act, constantly changing over time. It is in a conscious dialogue with life, the structure of the society, the city, and the time we live in.
In its purest version, architecture can act as a medium, to interpret, resist and finally reverse an already existing condition. It is a mechanism that gives shape and form to dream, hope, and finally composes a new reality. This is the essence of architecture.
Project
Domus Oliva
Nicosia
2018
This is a house located somewhere in the suburbs of Nicosia, Cyprus. It will accommodate the needs of a young family with a little girl. The program is clear: one living room, one kitchen, one workspace, two bedrooms and one en-suit bedroom.
The terrain with mild slopes, the low Cypriot vegetation, scattered olive trees, and the strong line of the horizon define the canvas where architecture and program will meet.
In terms of morphology the building is defined as an abstract, white cube, carved with vertical crevices. Wooden sliding louvers come to fill the cube’s gaps thereby developing multiple connections between the house and its surrounding environment. What emerges is a porous shell that evokes interactions between the inside and the outside, the light and the shadow, the private and the public.
Internally, the shell embraces the units of the program. Spaces and functions are organized around a central patio that it is raised as an essential element of the composition. Here, mass is removed from the cube, perforating it vertically. The result is a gap that fills the inside of the house with natural light. In addition, smaller semi-open spaces inside the cube are interwoven with the interior spaces of the house. Nature enters the house and the house enters the nature creating a permanent in-between state.
