Functional Connection

The recently completed addition to the campus of the European University Cyprus houses the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine. More specifically, the building comprises standard tertiary education classrooms along with their supporting facilities, as well as laboratories of various kinds in conjunction with a series of complementary communal spaces.

 

Urban Context and Institutional Role

Given the building’s significant institutional role within the university campus, the architecture was required to establish a connection with the existing facilities while preserving the distinctiveness of its character. The project site lies along one of Nicosia’s main traffic arteries (Agiou Prokopiou Avenue), an urban environment that remains largely under development. As such, the building seeks to respond with a restrained yet substantial presence within this context of extended distances and high-speed movement. The architecture of the area presents certain characteristics, which the project was called upon to respect.

 

 

Design Philosophy

The objective, therefore, was for the extension to become the new architectural expression of the university and to shape its modernised identity, while retaining the fundamental lines of the existing buildings’ morphology. This connection was achieved through the design of the facades using customised aluminium frames that reference the earlier morphology of the openings, while simultaneously providing the necessary protection against constantly shifting climatic conditions. The specially designed profiles shade the interior without restricting views, creating an engaging interplay between closed and open, solid and transparent. Within the broader modernisation of the university facilities, both the facades and the existing buildings were renovated and upgraded. In parallel, a smart building management system was installed to optimise energy performance and operational efficiency.

 

 

Functional Integration & Lighting

Beyond the aesthetic unification with the existing built complex, a key objective was the functional interconnection of the university buildings, which are developed on either side of a road axis. To ensure safe and comfortable movement between them, an elevated bridge was designed, organically integrated into the university’s internal circulation network. The architectural design was completed with a lighting study that discreetly highlights the lines and individual features of the facades. The exterior lighting lends depth and continuity to the complex’s presence, maintaining its identity and visibility even beyond operating hours.

 

 

The project involves the construction of a small preschool catering to children aged 0-6, as part of a larger initiative to revitalize a school complex in Macerata, in the district of Sforzacosta. With the aim of turning contextual constraints -such as a small plot of land and tight construction timelines -into opportunities, the project adheres to simple typological and construction characteristics. The new building takes shape through a system of seemingly disjointed solids and voids, connected by a large, pitched roof that defines the footprint of the school and creates a series of threshold spaces between indoor and outdoor environments. The arrangement of three small, independent, and separate volumes, housing classrooms, offices, and facilities, creates a sequence of spaces with varied forms and proportions. The result is a porous system that seamlessly integrates with the garden through oblique views facilitated by changes in the roof section. The articulation of spaces becomes evident at transitional junctures, where the seamless flow between environments is highlighted. Within these “intermediate” spaces bridging the classrooms, various architectural elements -such as a striking portal, a skylight illuminating a double-height area, and a solitary column- emerge as focal points, inviting exploration and discovery due to their deliberate placement and size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Set within a garden in the Belgian countryside stands the newly constructed wooden volume of Pocket Nursery, a 120m² “pocket” kindergarten whose architecture seeks to support learning through action and physical engagement. In response to the programmatic requirements and the specific pedagogical approach, the creation of a space capable of cultivating design sensitivity in children was not simply desirable, but fundamental. The scope of spatial experimentation was largely determined by the thickness of the walls: their lower sections incorporate small steps for toddlers learning to stand, while their inclined surfaces double as drawing boards. Openings are positioned at the children’s eye level, establishing a direct visual connection with the garden, which functions as both a spatial extension and an integral component of the educational experience. An inclined table is also embedded within the walls, serving alternately as a pottery workstation or as a communal surface for shared meals.

 

 

 

The Flexman Library is located in the Sharp building, designed in 1902 by Holabird & Roche Architects. The project aim is to create an engaging environment and connect students from various art programs in a multi-level library. The new design reconfigures the school’s existing main and special collections library on the fifth and sixth floor and exposes the building’s original steel frame structure. A narrow 20cm by 2.5m atrium connects the two levels, establishing a visual and physical connection of the two floors. A new multi-use space named “Corridor+” is constructed to create better circulation and access to the library, while also providing semi-private reading nooks, becoming a flexible public space for meetings, study sessions, exhibitions, and performances.

07. European University Cyprus Medical School Building | J.A. Philippou Architects & Engineers

ek issue: 303 | December 2025

 

The recently completed addition to the campus of the European University Cyprus houses the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine. More specifically, the building comprises standard tertiary education classrooms along with their supporting facilities, as well as laboratories of various kinds in conjunction with a series of complementary communal spaces. Given the building’s significant institutional role within the university campus, the architecture was required to establish a connection with the existing facilities while preserving the distinctiveness of its character. The project site lies along one of Nicosia’s main traffic arteries (Agiou Prokopiou Avenue), an urban environment that remains largely under development. As such, the building seeks to respond with a restrained yet substantial presence within this context of extended distances and high-speed movement. The architecture of the area presents certain characteristics, which the project was called upon to respect.

 

 

One of the greatest challenges in the design and construction of the Municipal Nursery School of Glyfada was to reassert the architect’s role as a key contributor in the creation of a new public building. A second challenge lay in foregrounding the prefabrication system selected for the building’s implementation. The entire structure was transported from the production factory, and the total construction time amounted to six months. The prefabrication system, defined by the competition’s prerequisites, significantly shaped the building’s form, as the basic module had to be transportable by truck.

 

On the northeastern edge of the University of Cyprus campus in Nicosia, an artificial hill rises from the terrain, completing the natural landscape shaped by Aronas Hill and the Kalogeros river. Seamlessly integrated into its surroundings, it appears less as an intervention and more as a quiet geological inevitability – an architectural gesture that feels as though it has always belonged there. Beneath this constructed topography lie the Information Center and the Library of the University of Cyprus, named after Stelios Ioannou in recognition of the decisive donation by his widow, Ellie Ioannou, which set the long-envisioned project into motion. What emerges is not merely a repository of knowledge, but a landmark that redefines the relationship between architecture and landscape.

 

 

 

The Tianjin Juilliard School serves as a dynamic center for performance, practice, research, and interactive exhibitions, with communal spaces intentionally designed to welcome the public into the creative and performative process of music. As the first performing arts institution in China to offer a U.S.-accredited Master of Music degree, it provides graduate programs in orchestral studies, chamber music, and collaborative piano. The school also offers a pre-college program for students ages 8–18, an instrumental training program, adult education courses, and a robust schedule of public performances.