APAP’s DIAGONAL Project Adds Flexible Glass Pavilion to 1970s Home
A Nicosia-based architectural extension prioritizes spatial fluidity over rigid domestic functional requirements.
1Architectural Expansion in Nicosia
Architectural practice APAP has completed DIAGONAL, a 133-square-meter residential extension attached to a 1970s home in Nicosia, Cyprus. The project utilizes two horizontal concrete planes that cantilever toward a central courtyard. This design choice shifts the structural emphasis of the original house, effectively connecting the interior volume to the surrounding wooded landscape.
2Design Without Fixed Purpose
The pavilion is intentionally conceived without a rigid functional brief or built-in partitions. By avoiding smaller enclosed rooms, the design leaves the eventual use of the space entirely to the occupants. This open-plan approach ensures that no prescribed arrangement dictates where specific domestic activities must begin or end within the structure.
3Integration With Natural Surroundings
Large glass enclosures serve as the primary interface between the interior and the exterior environment. Throughout the day, natural daylight and shifting foliage shadows animate the space, creating a dynamic visual backdrop. The design directs the occupants' attention outward, fostering a direct connection to the mature trees located around the elevated site.
4Custom Lighting Geometry
After sunset, a custom four-part lighting armature suspended within the pavilion provides a deliberate internal geometry. This fixture introduces a diagonal arrangement that creates directionality in the otherwise open room. The lighting system acts as a primary organizing element, defining the space's character without the need for physical walls or permanent room dividers.
5Three-Tiered Illumination Strategy
The lighting system separates into three distinct treatments to emphasize the enclosure's geometry. Very warm red light targets the sides, cool white light illuminates the ceiling, and warmer white light falls toward the floor. These varying colors and directions give the room's edges, upper surfaces, and lower planes their own distinct, layered visual identity.
6Shifting Visual Perspectives
The balance between looking out and seeing into the pavilion changes significantly with the time of day. During daylight hours, the glazed perimeter draws the eye toward the woodland. At night, the illuminated interior transforms into a display visible through the glass, altering how the extension addresses its immediate setting without physical changes.
7Designers' Conceptual Approach
Designers Alexis Papadopoulos and Maria Giannakou focused on creating a character that does not depend on a dedicated activity. By using the diagonal fixture to organize the space, they successfully avoided subdividing the floor. This approach demonstrates how architectural lighting can define a room's atmosphere while keeping the domestic brief completely open.
8Flexibility in Modern Architecture
The DIAGONAL project highlights a trend in residential design where architects prioritize spatial versatility over traditional room definitions. By providing a distinctive lighting scheme rather than fixed partitions, the designers offer a flexible environment. This strategy allows the home to evolve alongside the changing needs of its inhabitants over the coming years.
Original article: Yanko Design — APAP’s DIAGONAL Project Adds Flexible Glass Pavilion to 1970s Home