The building is situated between two narrow streets in the old part of the town about 50m from the beach. The office is on the first floor, and the surgery on the ground. They are approached via a common double height covered entrance.
My aims were to
1. Use references from traditional architecture.
The covered double height entrance has references to local traditional buildings. Two examples were used. An urban, early 20th century block of apartments in Limassol with a covered staircase access within the main block of the building, and a rural house with an open space within the main building block.
2. Develop a vocabulary of using opposites to recreate experiences. The lightweight steel and locally sourced warm timber roof, against the heavy and cool concrete curved wall. As a result the warm feels warmer and the cool feels cooler. The experience becomes more intense, giving one a sense of belonging.
3. Use the design as an active contributor to business success in relation to branding, employment satisfaction, recruitment success, and general productivity as a whole.
-The common double height covered entrance is an invitation to the public, and at the same time provides the employees with means of visual communication, engagement, and comfort, without sacrificing their privacy.
-When the medical partition is removed at night, the dental chair can be seen from the street advertising its presence and the dental practice.
-The absence of doors between the surgery and reception, and the small garden and water feature, helps to make patients feel less intimidated and more confortable.
4. Use an environmentally friendly approach to space heating, cooling, and water sourcing and recycling. The under floor heating is assisted with solar heated vacuum tubes. Cooling is assisted with buried pipes using a geothermal approach. Water to the toilets is from a well. Grey water is treated, and rainwater is harvested, and used for the small garden and pond.
