The post The Reverse Cube | Residence in Nicosia was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The jewelry is in a central location in Nicosia, at Strovolos. The objective of the redesign was to merge three little shops into an integrated space, catering to the needs of the store.

The design creates a modern, timeless, functional exhibition space for jewels, informed by museum exhibition design in their placement and lighting; it also confronts the need of highlighting the company legacy, where architecture remains consistent with high-end jewelry design.

The guiding design idea elaborates on the reflections in the faceted surfaces of a diamond, materialized as recesses or protractions in space -horizontal and vertical on the facades and surfaces; those fundamental lines succeed in integrating volumes, facades, interiors, and materials. The material palette alludes to the first jewelry established by Mr. Michalis Evdokimou in 1968, in the narrow lanes of Strovolos.

The color palette relies on dark shades combined with the hues of gold, the latter being used in linear, floating elements that create balanced contrasts with their glow, as highlights in the intentionally dark space.

The lighting design creates a dramatic atmosphere, with exhibition lights on the display stands and low ambient lighting.

Upon entry, the central display stand immediately becomes the spine of the store, accommodating diamond creations, leading to the customer service and jewelry display section that leads to an area for having coffee with the jewelry staff.

A minimal dimension space, alluding to a museum shop, is used for private viewings of selected pieces, maintaining visibility with the rest of the store through a specially designed golden perforated screen.

AcA Architects – Renos Constantinou

The post Evdokimou Jewellery was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.

The 340m² private house in the outskirts of greater Nicosia was designed to feature contemporary aesthetics, acquiring permanence with the use of timeless materials. Concurrently, the house caters to the needs of a family of four, facilitating communication and comfort.

The building’s placement enhances natural ventilation and lighting, and large openings add to the connection between inside and out.

The architect Renos Constantinou chooses to bestow the house with identity, alluding to the owners’ names: Paris and Helen. Mythology provides inspiration for designing a contemporary “Trojan” home, the “Villa Troy”.

The choice of stone cladding on a loadbearing wall on the façade, as well as on the enclosure at the back of the property, hints at the walls of Troy.

Metal, applied in many components, is another significant material from that time: the façade features five ornamental brackets whose angular form alludes to the trojan war spears; The original metal door and the vertical metal railings shape the home enclosure.

Living spaces, arranged in an irregular L-shape, are placed amidst a cluster of outdoor areas, including verandas and a garden.

The open-plan ground level accommodates the lounge, the living and dining rooms. The double-height void at the vestibule becomes the core around which those three integrated parts of the house develop.

The fireplace, dominating the ground level, functions as divider at the limit between the vestibule, living room, and dining area. Its glass enclosure on three sides allows the hearth to be visible from all adjacent spaces.

The base of the fireplace is clad in ceramic tiles emulating fair-face concrete; this material also dresses the dining room wall, featuring the portrait paintings of Paris and Helen. The fair-face concrete ceramic pairs well with the floor tiling, emulating Calacatta marble. This material covers the entire ground floor of the house, assigning luxury and elegance.

ACA Architects

Renos Constantinou

The post Villa Troy was originally published on ek magazine | Architectural Publications | ek magazine – Architectural Publications.