National Archives

Architectural Competition for the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, 1999, Nicosia
Architects: Constantinos Kalisperas / George Katodrytis

The buildings “programmatic context”, hidden at basement level where the storage of the archives is located, through a dynamic cylindrical opening, interconnecting basement and upper levels where the offices are located, becomes the tool for revealing the concealed programme to the public, re-positioning the buildings essence within the broader urban scale.
The conceptual, tectonic cylindrical surface, allows for natural light into the gallery area below and the internal spiral ramp, connects lower with upper levels, allowing for a library to be designed in the middle, becoming the public “territorial” membering of the two.