Bringing nature back to the city

Christos Pavlou says we can and should bring nature back to the city. Although not a new idea, as he explained via our website, it's a growing imperative for cities like Nicosia in Cyprus that could use a little help with making green and communal areas a priority in their urban planning.

A house that helps green the city, promote shared spaces & social dialogue between its residents inspired the design of the garden house.

The concept emphasises the potential of private urban gardens: the microclimates they create improve living conditions within cities and maintain urban biodiversity.

The need to connect with nature & neighbours became bigger than ever during the lockdown.

In contrast with most urban homes built to isolate themselves from the rest of the neighbourhood, erecting fences & barriers, this proposal aims to form a physical continuation of the public green area that exists on the longest side of the plot and to become another layer of the urban fabric.

The design establishes a harmonious relationship between the neighbourhood, the private garden, & the public green area. Urban elements such as buildings, streets & public spaces are not treated in isolation but as one configuration.

House & park are interrelated with shared places like the pedestrian pathway, the garden, the veranda, and are considered elements of one big house-like city.

The house helps to upgrade the quality of the urban fabric. Iit seeks to improve urban biodiversity and reduce the carbon dioxide footprints in the city. A central element of the house was planting gardens on 60% of the plot on the ground floor using more than 40 kinds of wild native flowers? & a green terrace on the first floor. Bee lawn mainly was planted on the ground floor, creating a friendly environment for the bees ?

During the lockdown, we rediscovered the value of our houses & our need for more outdoor areas, balconies, and rooftops where we can socialise, exercise & practice our hobbies.

The pandemic came only to emphasize what is already known, but systematically forgotten, the urge to accelerate the process of incorporating nature in our cities in creative ways.

? Garden house © C. Pavlou