George Tsangarides
Biography
ABOUT
George Tsangarides studied Architecture at the University of Florence in Italy, where he also worked briefly. After returning to Cyprus, he spent his early career working for various architectural firms in Nicosia. He later became self-employed and worked on his own projects and at the same time was collaborating as an external partner for the Master plan department of the Municipality of Nicosia. He is currently employed as an Architect for the Municipality of Nicosia.
Much of his work has focused on listed buildings and the renovation of Special Character Areas, with a smaller proportion dedicated to new construction. A particularly notable project is the conservation, restoration, and new extension of the Municipal Market at the Old City Hall in Nicosia. This project received a “Highly Commended” award in the Share Architecture Awards 2024.
AWARDS
- “Highly Commended” award in the Share Architecture Awards 2024.
PROJECTS TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE EVENT
Project #1: The Old Municipality Market ( Conservation and New use)
Start year: 19.01.2021
The building of the Municipal Market of Nicosia The building of the Municipal Market of Nicosia was designed in 1965 by Architect Stavros Economou and is located within the city walls of Nicosia. The building was initially designed for two purposes. It operated as a Municipal Market and as offices for the Nicosia Municipality. It consisted of market spaces on the ground floor, sanitary facilities in the basement, and office spaces on the upper floor. The layout on the ground floor unfolds into a large unified and tall space of seven meters, where the vegetable market was housed. Small shops surrounding the vegetable market on the ground floor hosted butcher shops and fishmongers. On the upper floor, above the shops surrounding the vegetable market, were the offices of the Nicosia Municipality. Particularly characteristic features of the building include its central space, with the ceiling slab featuring distinctive shapes made of exposed concrete, roof skylights made of exposed concrete, mosaic cladding of the columns in the central space, as well as the visible brick on the exterior façades on the ground floor and the vertical sunshades made of concrete on the upper floor. The building is one of the significant buildings of the 1960s, representing mature modernism. The building has been declared a listed building. Restoration Study of the Municipal Market Building of the Old City Hall Following the decision that the building would host the Center of Excellence in Research and Innovation CYENS, the restoration study of the Municipal Market was entrusted to the E.R.S.L office of the Nicosia Municipality and the Municipality’s Architect George Tsangarides, aiming to meet the needs of the Center of Excellence. In addition to the building needs of CYENS, the study had to address challenges such as the structural adequacy of the building, the new specialized electromechanical needs of the center, the energy efficiency of the building, all without altering the character of the building and its materials, as it is a listed building. The building needs of the center included laboratories, demonstration areas, common workspaces, seminar rooms, multimedia studios, a fabrication lab, an electronics studio, and administrative offices, among others. Due to increased needs and the lack of necessary square meters, it was decided to create internal extensions. Priority for the Architectural study of the building was the maintenance – restoration of the building (preserving its character and architectural details, maintaining the dimensions of the columns and beams, as the structural part of the building is also architectural, preserving the old materials as much as possible, preserving the original colors). At the same time, the study provided for metal constructions within the central space utilizing the large internal space. The constructions were made to create additional space for CYENS’ building needs, as the existing square meters of the building did not adequately meet the needs. Particularly noteworthy is the construction of the raised metal wing of 30 x 5.5 meters, which is visually transparent as all its sides are made of glass. Similar constructions are also present on the ground floor. Visual transparency was deemed necessary in the study for the visual lightening of the metal structures in the space and simultaneously for the visual continuation of the perspective of the existing building. For access to the raised metal wing as well as to the existing floor, metal stairs and raised walkways were created since the ground floor and the floor of the building were not initially internally connected. Additionally, two metal constructions for elevators were created, providing access to the two floors of the building, the first to the kitchen/rest area on the roof and the second to the changing rooms/restrooms and storage rooms in the basement. After the construction was completed, the building became earthquake-resistant according to current Eurocodes. All electromechanical installations have been renewed and are in line with the needs of the CYENS center for excellence and innovation. The building has been upgraded in terms of energy efficiency and has been issued an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) category A. The building is accessible to people with disabilities. All the above static, electromechanical, EPC interventions have been made without affecting or altering the Architecture of the listed building. Commencement and Completion of Works The contract for the construction of the project was signed between the Mayor of Nicosia, Constantinos Giorgkatzis, and the director of Lois Builders Limited on January 5, 2021. Work began on January 19, 2021, and was completed on December 29, 2023. Project Objective The objective of the project and, by extension, of the Nicosia Municipality with the maintenance and restoration of the building of the Municipal Market of the old City Hall, is to create, in the center of the walled city next to the green line, a pole of development and promotion of entrepreneurship and technology industries, research, and innovation. The building will host functions of the Center of Excellence in Research and Innovation CYENS and is part of the priorities of the Nicosia Municipality’s strategy for Integrated Sustainable Urban Development to promote research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In the consortium, coordinated by the Municipality of Nicosia, international organizations of high reputation such as the Max Planck Institute of Germany and University College London of the United Kingdom, as well as the three state universities of Cyprus (University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology, and Open University of Cyprus), join forces. The contract amount is EUR 4,927,000.00 plus VAT. The project is being implemented under the Cohesion Policy Program “TALEIA 2021 – 2027” with the co-financing of the EU. Project Contributors Architect: George Tsangarides (Nicosia Municipality) Civil Engineers: George Dimitriades and Nikos Kalathas (D&K EPS LLC) Electrical and Mechanical Engineers: Akritas Consulting Engineers Quantity Surveyor: BYRON A.CRISTOU LLC Safety and Health Consultant: Floros Panteli Associates LLC Construction Company: Lois Builders Limited
