LEMPA

The architectural competition for the creation of the cultural village is located in the village of Lemba, Cyprus, a village that used to be a center for the production of bottled ceramics and that continues the tradition of pottery to this day. The area is therefore dominated by a very strong raw material, clay (terra cota), which the Romans historically exploited to make their construction materials.
The proposal attempts to translate this materially and archaeologically enriched past into a contemporary cultural center, which will also promote the customs and habits associated with clay. The clay is transformed into a symbolic component that reflects the way the village developed, and its material inscription in the structured whole emerges as a basic compositional principle that illuminates the relationship between culture and experience. In this respect, the new complex consists of different variations and qualities of brick, attempting to compose a consistent architectural vocabulary that promotes tactility and familiarity with the natural materiality of the area.