Nicosia – Makedonitissa area

Completion Date: 2007

The Act house is designed to be the permanent home for a family with two children. The idea was to create an open plan house where the family’s activities all merge in a single space.

The house is on two levels, on the ground floor the main goal was to have a distribution hall, a small TV room and a single space for the kitchen and family room. A double height entrance hall is the main interior feature characterized by the cantilever wooden staircase which is supported by a 6m high travertine wall. The use of iroko, olive, oak and wenge wood merge with the ligouriou marble to create a warm color palette.

On the first floor we distributed two big bedrooms for the kids and a master bedroom with a walk-in-closet and an en-suite bathroom.

The proposal from Studiomk35 - Architects was based on a strong façade towards the road to serve as a filter between the inside space and the outdoor area. Vertical and horizontal forms in cast concrete and HPL have been used to achieve this. Openings at the front are limited, which adds to the sculptural nature of the building while emphasizing the concrete vertical surface. On the south, big sliding doors provide the necessary natural light to the family area and offer direct access to the garden.

It was essential from the start of the project that the house was visually connected to the small back garden and that is why the covered veranda was situated on the southwest side of the plot. A V-shaped concrete wall and a big tree provide all the necessary shading to the space.