Vashiotis Ikos Center (Office Building)

The building is located in Limassol the biggest coastal city of Cyprus. It has the benefit to lay in front of the beautiful popular promenade of the city on the long coastal avenue which it is also one of the most commercial and tourist road of the Island. The first 5 floors with open-plan office spaces of 2135 sq.m, are owned by a financial company while the last 2 storeys developed into a residential apartment with outdoor verandas and pool. Taking into consideration the commercial advantages of the ground floor shops, they have been converted by the owned into one large showroom. Inversed "Panopticon" theory was the main influence and has inspired the direction of the design in search of maximising the buildings view to the sea. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether or not they are being watched. The design consists of a circular structure with an "inspection house" at its centre, from which the managers or staff, of the institution, is able to watch the inmates, who are stationed around the perimeter. The result is a modern and functional commercial building in the heart of Limassol Business District with uninterrupted views to the sea.