Month: November 2025

Situated near a sparse forest with intriguing vistas over the suburbs of Nicosia, this house stands in a deliberately ambiguous way: Rather than adopting a conventional residential typology that opens outward to offer uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape, it rises as an austere, introverted box. Is it a building, a sculpture, or a container? The proposal constitutes an elaboration of the primordial dwelling-box and its reinterpretation in relation to contemporary modes of domestic living.

As the late urban planner Jaime Lerner once argued, the future of architecture lies not in building new cities but in updating those that already exist. In a world where resources are finite and urban space is increasingly saturated, his statement feels more urgent than ever. It calls for architects to look inward, to rethink what truly needs to be built, and to recognize the creative potential of what is already there. Within the constraints of existing structures lies an opportunity to design differently: to repair, adapt, and reuse. Or, as French poet Louis Aragon would have it, to reinvent the past to see the beauty of the future.

Architecture has entered a pivotal moment. As cities continue to grow under the weight of climatic and social pressures, the materials and systems that shape them are being redefined. Artificial intelligence and robotics, once used to accelerate construction processes, are now being rethought as tools for cultivation. Printed structures that grow, breathe, and decay. Cultivation, in this context, refers to designing with biological materials, where growth and decay are active parameters, merging digital precision with ecological intelligence. This evolution shows the shift from efficiency to empathy, where architecture becomes an agent of active repair. The introduction of mycelium and other natural materials into 3D printing presents a new paradigm in architecture: the logic of the living. A place where computation and fabrication meet biological adaptability.

The architecture and construction sector currently accounts for the highest carbon emissions among all global industries. Architecture, which has evolved alongside humanity for over 10,000 years, entered the 20th century prioritizing efficiency and economy above all else, adopting concrete and steel as its near-exclusive materials. This pursuit of industrial optimization, while enabling rapid development, also detached architecture from its ecological roots and intensified the environmental burden of the built environment.

This house is named the 10º house because the axis of the facade is tilted 10 degrees to the east. This project is a renovation of an old house. It is a striking example of contemporary tropical architecture, merging robust material expression with a refined spatial composition. The house exhibits a monolithic exterior characterized by board-formed concrete façades that evoke a raw yet deliberate aesthetic. The texture of the concrete panels—retaining the imprint of the wooden formwork—imbues the structure with a tactile quality, grounding it in material honesty and craftsmanship. The interplay between solid and void is orchestrated through precisely placed apertures and deep recesses, allowing controlled daylight to filter through while maintaining privacy from the street.

designed by studio ex., the bivouac acts as both mountain refuge and cultural outpost for gamec.

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