concentric white walls envelop garden-filled residence by draftworks* architects in cyprus

garden grows inside draftworks* architects’ residence in cyprus

On the outskirts of Nicosia, Cyprus, draftworks* architects completes House ED, a family home around a wild inner garden. Designed for a couple and their two children, the 230-square-meter residence unfolds behind a succession of concentric white walls, culminating in a lush, planted void that becomes the visual anchor of the project.

The design builds on the idea of the perivolos, the traditional high wall that once enclosed Cypriot homes and their gardens. Here, it’s reinterpreted as a series of white, protective layers that create a sense of privacy and enclosure while still allowing light and air to flow through.

all images by Maria Efthymiou / Creative Photo Room

layered white walls reinterpret the ‘perivolos’ in House ED

Historically, the perivolos was used in Cypriot homes to shield private courtyards from the outside world. In House ED, Nicosia- and Athens-based draftworks* architects brings this idea into the present through a series of layered white walls that gradually lead from the street to the heart of the home. Rather than entering all at once, you pass through a sequence of spaces, catching glimpses of light, shade, and small pockets of planted greenery, before reaching the central garden. This garden, slightly wild and protected, offers the family a private connection to nature, even in the middle of a growing suburb.

Visually, the house takes cues from modernist architecture, specifically from Adolf Loos, with its crisp white surfaces and clean geometry. The extended use of the white color plays a key role in how the house works with light. Throughout the day, sunlight bounces across the walls, a quality especially important to the family, who wanted a home where light could be felt as part of their daily rhythm.

Beyond its form, the house is designed as a backdrop for everyday moments and for the couple’s collection of art. Every room is arranged around the central garden, so there’s always a visual and spatial connection to it, no matter where you are in the house. 

draftworks* architects completes House ED

this family home is organized around a wild inner garden

designed for a couple and their two children

the 230-square-meter residence unfolds behind a succession of concentric white walls

the design builds on the idea of the ‘perivolos’

light and air flow through

the house takes cues from modernist architecture

the house is designed as a backdrop for everyday moments and for the couple’s collection of art

a series of white, protective layers that create a sense of privacy and enclosure

every room is arranged around the central garden

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glimpses of light, shade, and small pockets of planted greenery

sunlight bounces across the walls

a private connection to nature

rather than entering all at once, you pass through a sequence of spaces

project info:

name: HOUSE ED
architect: draftworks* architects | @draftworks_architects

location: Lakatamia, Nicosia, Cyprus

area: 230 square meters

design team: Christiana Ioannou, Christos Papastergiou

landscape design: Maria Paraskevaidou

kitchen furniture design: Stavros Ioannou – MOB design studio | @mobdesignstudio

structural engineer: Platon Stylianou & Associates – Civil and Structural Engineers L.L.C.

mechanical engineer: Eliana Georgiou – THE E&E MEP STUDIO LLC

electrical engineer: Evripides Papachristoforou – THE E&E MEP STUDIO LLC

photographer: Maria Efthymiou / Creative Photo Room | @creativephotoroom

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom