3CX

The design of the headquarters for a Nicosia-based international software development company has as driving concept the construction of a building levitating over an open plaza; this space has the potential to become the condenser of all social aspects in the composition. Therefore, from the outset, the program prescribed the office development above ground level, and the latter was designed as the most public element in the project.

This public level accommodates the amphitheater, cafeteria, gym, outdoor relaxation spaces and swimming pool, with the parking exclusively underground. The ground level is lifted to create a socle, accessible from steps or from a ramp. The change in level of the plaza and the support of the building upon pillars, allows unobstructed views through the entire depth of the property. The coexistence of public, communal spaces on this level creates a container of life, enhancing the communal feeling in the framework of the building.

In the interior, office spaces are open and flexible, with varying degrees of privacy secured through panels whose transparency ranges from absolute opacity to absolute visibility. Moreover, all spaces enjoy natural light and ventilation and the atrium functions beneficially for the internal perimeter of the offices, as a source of light and fresh air. The building skin is organized through a system of vertically oriented shades and aluminum screens, facilitating or obstructing visibility according to the onlookers’ angle of view.

The structural system involves concrete slabs upon columns. The interior floors rest upon those supports, as well as upon closed “boxes” clad in mirrors, containing the indoor staircases and service areas. The reflection of the surroundings upon those two “supporting plinths” creates the impression of a black box levitating on top.

All interior finishes display reinforced concrete in different treatments, stainless steel and black-coated aluminum; the high ceilings leave mechanical and electrical equipment exposed as a spectacle.

The 3CX office building was a candidate at the European Union Prize of Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2019.

Michael Seroff, Soteris Papadopoulos

Creative Photo Room

ek magazine #236 April 2019