Architecture Competition Legendary Bird Home 2020 3rd prize winner - Kerry Kyriakou

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the 3rd prize winner of our “Legendary Bird Home 2020” competition - Kerry Kyriakou from Cyprus!

Kerry Kyriakou from Cyprus

I graduated with Honors and first in my class with multiple awards for my architectural performance and thesis project titled ‘the 18th Ward’ at the University of Nicosia. While studying, I also worked at the university as an assistant professor, tutoring and advising younger architects on their projects. After graduation, I went on to work with some of the country’s most well-known architectural firms on projects including skyscrapers, restaurants, hotels, luxury residences, high-end apartment buildings and competitions with many projects currently under construction.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where company/ individuals have been involved?

As an architect, I like to work on all types of architecture so as to not limit myself with only one style or scale of project. I like to keep an open mind and let my imagination do the rest, uniquely for every project. Three of my favorite projects from architectural practices that I have worked on so far:



One Tower Limassol at ‘Papachristou Architects’: The largest sea front residential tower in Europe with 37 floors of luxury design. The tower has a nice curved form geometry overlooking the Limassol sea.

Residence 309 at ‘Papachristou Architects’: The first residential project that I co-designed together with Eraclis Papachristou. The project was designed in 2015-2016 with a distinctive fluid form design approach. The residence captivates the surrounding nature with large panoramic views and bay windows.

SODAP Beach Restaurant Competition at ‘Psomas Architects’: I was part of a four-person team that won first prize for the SODAP beach front competition in Paphos. The project is an extension of the pedestrian path with a large fluid arc to admire a 180-degree sea view. The upper bar level consists of an illuminated open canopy space with a large iconic staircase connecting the upper pathway to the lower beach restaurant level and the sea.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

As Buckminster Fuller once said “Call me trimtab”, he compared how similar the role of an architect is to the role of a trimtab. A trimtab is a little metal piece at the edge of a rudder that is so well-designed and placed in the correct position that it has the power to shift an entire vessel with minimal effort. The foundation of all architects should be to develop the capacity for critical thinking, and through that, to intertwine design and problem-solving capabilities. Thus, to come up with unique proposals that positively affect, not only architecture, but society as a whole.

Why do you participate in architecture vision competitions?

As a practical architect I often get caught up on the idea/routine that I should only apply my abilities to the built environment and tend to forget that I can offer more. Architecture vision competitions allow architects to keep a bridge between practical architecture and the realm of academia to create unique proposals.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture vision competitions?

The benefits for architects to participate in architectural vision competitions are two-fold. Firstly, as an architect, it takes years to clearly develop design causality; between an idea and its practicality. Through constant practice in competitions, an architect can clearly refine an idea into presentation and drawing of concepts/proposals. Secondly, the only real way to make change is to put yourself out there constantly and eventually one of your ideas will spark interest.