Type: Public Space design / Architectural Competition
Status: Honorable Mention in the European Architectural Competition for the Redesign of the GSP Area in Nicosia, Cyprus
Year: 2011
Area: 13400 sq.m.
Location: Nicosia, Cyprus
Collaboration: Fereos + Associates, M. Labrou, G. Patsoumas

GSP_URBAN FOLIAGE

Foliage: in botany foliage [mass noun for a leaf] are laminar plant organs which evolved in a way to maximize their surface area exposed to light and air, enhance their ability to store water and provide shade. To achieve these, the inner structure of a leaf comprises from a vascular tissue of Veins in various pattern formations. These palmate-netted patterns form around a primary mid-vein subdividing into veinlets. The veinlets then create a pattern that stretches to the leaf edges, creating an inter-connected two-way network that transports water and minerals from the roots into the leaf and, vice-versa, dissolved sucrose, produced by photosynthesis, out of the leaf. These principals, from an Urban Metabolism point of view, combined with the ecologic principle of sustainability form the basis of our architectural design proposal for an urban park, thus named Urban Foliage.