STAR OBSERVATORY OF CYPRUS

Image by MIR

Kyriakos Tsolakis Architects, which has offices in Nicosia and London, has won planning permission for the research centre. Drawing inspiration from science-fiction movies, the Troodos Observatory, or "star observatory", will be built 1200 metres above sea level in Troodos Geopark – a 115-hectare, UNESCO-listed park containing mountains covered with forests, fields, orchards and vineyards.

Image by Saarnak Visuals

Studio founders Nicodemos K Tsolakis and Elena K Tsolakis describe the building as "a foreign object within a very natural organic setting", which should "inspire and excite anyone who sees it from afar or from up close".

"Elena and I drew inspiration from sci-fi when drawing up plans for this observatory – I was a Star Wars fan growing up," explained Tsolakis. "Of course the client didn't know this when they hired us. They were pretty surprised with where we took it, but they love the ideas."

Troodos Observatory is set to become the first purpose-built observatory in Cyprus. It will collect data to share with NASA, which is currently unable to track celestial phenomena between India and the Mediterranean.

"Cyprus is ideal to set up an observatory that will be interconnected with the Observatory of Crete and then with other European observatories as part of an observatory network," added the two architects.

Image by MIR

The building will feature a slender, wedge-shaped form, with a dome roof at one end and a cantilevered roof terrace at the other, and will contain two telescopes – one better suited to daytime use, and one for nighttime use. Visitors will also be invited to bring their own telescopes up onto the roof terrace so they can also participate in stargazing.

Structurally, the building will be designed to withstand severe temperature fluctuation – from 40 degrees centigrade in summer to below freezing with snow in winter.

Image by MIR