School of Tourism, Hospitality and Management, Paphos

There is a conversation that is often alluded to in architecture that has to do with the contrasts offered between closed (concealed) and open (revealed). This is especially evident in the case of the new Tourism, Hospitality and Management School, TEPAK building in Paphos. The building volume itself constantly hovers between being an enclosed, defined cube and the suggestion that it is a gradual but, once more defined, ascent around a central void. Half the events appear to be set in and about external spaces and their references, the other half are specifically contained. The circulation around the complex is the mechanism that effectively binds and holds everything together. The result is a design that, while having a strong character of its own, a sense of presence, makes a potent gesture and reference toward the public realm. Highly appropriate for a building that is concerned with education and its role within society. The design itself is composed of identifiable elements, such as the top level that all but hovers above the site, the inhabited volumes that hold it there stating their role boldly, allowing more independent elements to inform the void that is created within. The site itself and many of its parameters provided considerable limitations to the manner in which the project was treated. The speed with which it was constructed another impressive and restricting factor. That said, the ease with which the final product moves confidently across and through the site is testimony to the level of resolution which it enjoys.