NE 1.17 House+ renders a minimalistic and bioclimatic design that is situated in a beautiful residential area in the city of Larnaca in Cyprus. The main idea of the project was to create a warm and cozy dwelling for a contemporary family, a space carrier of multiple memories, that could blend nicely with the environment and be energy efficient throughout the year. 

The North façade, which welcomes the main entrance of the house, faces the highway and that was the reason behind the “L” shaped structure. The purpose was to create a building envelope, which maintains an internal character in the South while allowing it to unfold in the back with the garden, BBQ, and pool area. Stone cladding, ceramic slaps and HPL wooden strips describe the hard surfaces that were mostly used on the north façade in order to give privacy and protection from traffic noise, while the large glass openings on the South elevation allow a more transparent connection with the backyard and nature.

The ground floor holds the main entrance and spaces with the biggest flow, organized in a horizontal sequel including the living room, dining room, kitchen, parking space and the outdoor area. There is also a guest room that can be accessed independently with a separate entrance on the backside. The large sliding doors on the entire ground floor, create a scenographic experience overlooking to the beautiful landscape. The upper level consists of two bedrooms, a family bathroom, a laundry area, an office, a playroom and the master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet in the same horizontal layout as the ground floor. The spatial composition of the ground and first floor unfolds upwards in an “L” shape geometry connected by a light structured metallic staircase and a double-height void in the living room. The purpose of the double-height void was to embrace the connection between the living room area with the first ’s floor office and playroom but also to create interesting visuals and perspectives.

The interior–exterior flow and the correlation between nature and space is explicit. The relationship between nature and spaces, cross air ventilation and natural lighting are some of the key factors of this project. Natural cross air ventilation is achieved through the large opposite windows on both floors and through the double-height space. The two small inner courtyards on the ground and first floor enlarger the relation of the indoor space with nature and increase the penetration of natural light into the house. Moreover, the large window openings allow the sun to warm up the spaces during the wintertime and the extension of the roof slab on both sides, north and south, protects the spaces from overheating during summertime. The external walls which consists of insulating bricks and exterior thermal insulation maintain the ideal indoor temperature during all months of the year.