The Cyprus Architects Association on Monday slammed the recent demolition of an iconic Nicosia 1930s home, calling for an improved mechanism to evaluate and list historic buildings, including modernist ones.

The two-storey building, designed by architect Odysseas Tsangarides, is one of the first samples of modernism in Cyprus, with its semi-circular wing and porous limestone outer walls, the association said.
Losing such buildings “downgrades the architectural identity of our country and denies future generations the ability to know and utilise our richly structured past”, it said.

The association called on the state to take immediate action to protect architectural works and provide incentives to owners to restore their buildings rather than demolish them.

“Our architectural heritage is an inextricable part of our cultural heritage. Preserving it is not just a duty towards the past, but an investment in the future, enhancing the viability and quality of life in Cypriot towns,” it said.

Head of the Ecological Movement Efi Xanthou said the demolition of the building was “one of many over the past years”.

She pointed out that workers went in over a weekend, with the empty plot visible on Monday morning.
She said demolishing a building to erect a tower block was financially lucrative for some, however such irreversible actions are at the expense of the urban landscape.

Xanthou blamed the state for the absence of protection for modernistic architecture and said Nicosia municipality had sent a list of buildings it considered to be worth preserving to the town planning department which had not deemed a single one as worthy.

“This lack of protection of our modern architectural heritage is indicative of the selective sensitivity displayed by our state,” she said.
The Nicosia district government clarified on Sunday that the building was private property and thus the owner could do what he liked with it.

Later on Monday, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou was keen to stress that the building’s demolition was entirely legal, and that the building was not listed or subject to an application to be listed.

“For a request to be considered for a house to be listed, it must come from either the competent local authorities or the owners, unless the house is in the historical core of a city or in an area of special character,” he said.

“The house in question was neither in one area nor another, and no request had been submitted for it to be listed by the Nicosia municipality or by its owners.”

He went on to say that it is “sad that a building of remarkable architectural building has been demolished”, but that the procedure in such cases “is a given”.

“Through this procedure, more than 7,000 houses have been approved as listed in an effort to preserve our cultural heritage. Another 4,000 applications are currently under evaluation,” he said.

He also made reference to the Nicosia Teachers’ Savings Bank building on Makarios avenue, which he said is also “the subject of much discussion”.

He pointed out that this building, too, is not in an area of special protection and does not fall under any of the existing criteria to be listed, but that with the “gap” in listings now having been identified, he would work with the scientific and technical chamber (Etek) to record and evaluate such buildings “to see what can be done” about them.

Xanthou said that there was no information available online on listed buildings and that the only hope left was the law on antiquities for anything made over a 100 years ago.

The 1930s home on the corner of Arnaldas and Stassinos Avenue was demolished on Friday night.
A video of the building being brought down was widely circulated on social media, where it caused an outcry.

The home before its demolition