Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Architect: Takis Sophocleous
The iconic tower designed by Jean Nouvel at the centre of Nicosia, next to Eleftheria Square transforms the city silhouette of Nicosia. The program includes 10-story residential apartments, a 6-story office space, and a 2-story retail area, plus 3 levels of basements where parking spots and storage areas are located. This verticality in relation to the horizontality of the medieval walls and the moat that enclose the old part of the city sets the stage for a series of inversions that are characteristic of the building. The 67-meter-high building will be the culminating landmark of the city.
On the south façade, a vertical landscape covers approximately 80% of the building’s façade area. This exceptional living environment is working like a natural “brise soleil”. The plants will act as a natural sun control shielding the apartments and the offices from direct sun during summer while admitting a maximum of sunlight in winter. This “living façade” supports a variety of Cypriote climbing and spreading plants and will be continually transformed by the cyclic movements of the different seasons. 400-year-old olive trees continue this vertical landscape on the perimeter of the building. It creates the link to the adjacent urban park and gets a part of the scenery of the city.
The apartments and office feature indoor/outdoor loggias that extend the living space outside to take maximum advantage of Nicosias temperate climate. On the north façade, the loggias extend out to take maximum advantage of views toward the park and the city skyline. A series of cascading terraces and large balconies acknowledge the Mediterranean climate and the significance of spending time outside. On the east and west façade, the loggias extend in from the pixelated concrete walls façade to protect residents and office occupiers from noise, wind, and sun. Punctured by a random array of openings, sometimes glazed sometimes left open, especially in the garden areas, the massiveness of the walls is negated by the numerous perforations. Interesting shadow games determine the exterior and interior space in relation to the different sun position of the day.
An accumulation of voids and windows shaped by a size of 0,40m x 0,40m creates a unique screen image from the outside and inside point of view. At night the wall as a giant screen is pronouncing the inhabitant’s light needs and strengthens even more the random system of the fragmented façade. The shading and the thickness of the walls are saving cooling energy during every season of the year, especially in the peak time of the summer months. On the top two floors of the tower, a duplex apartment is organized around a central courtyard inspired by Cypriot traditional architecture. Three large shades protect the apartment from the summer sun and emphasize the view to the sky. The project gives an example for the incorporation of native vegetation, cultural and climatic aspects into the high-rise building architecture. The project gives an appropriate aesthetic to the environmental challenge of our contemporary cities.
