Nicosia, Cyprus

Led by Christos Passas at Zaha Hadid Architects, the design of Eleftheria Square establishes new connections to reunite a divided capital.

Nicosia’s massive Venetian fortifications separate the old city from its modern districts, while the city’s “Green Line” divides the capital into two disparate communities.

Located near the center of Nicosia, Eleftheria Square is adjacent to the Venetian Wall and its dry moat that encircles the ancient city.

Established in the Middle Ages and extensively rebuilt by the Venetians in the 16th century, the substantial defensive walls define the boundary of the oldest part of the capital, separating it from modern districts outside the walls.

Eleftheria Square was awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Zaha Hadid Architects envision Eleftheria Square as the first part of a much larger urban planning vision that could be a catalyst for the reunification of the capital.

The design establishes the Venetian Wall as an integral part of Nicosia’s identity while opening the dry moat for public use to create an orbital park around the city.

Replacing existing car parks and inaccessible areas of the moat with civic plazas, parklands, palm-lined promenades, and sports fields, the moat becomes a ‘green belt’ for the city.

These new public spaces within the moat follow the ancient city wall to encircle the entire city, reconnecting communities on either side of the ‘Green Line’ that divides Nicosia.

This design establishes the moat as the city’s primary public space, creating a “necklace” of interconnected gathering places, recreational areas, and cultural facilities around Nicosia that unites the ancient and modern city, as well as the communities north and south of the ‘Green Line’.

The fluidity of the design within Eleftheria Square elevates the topography of the moat to create an upper level that meets the surrounding streetscape, establishing direct and accessible connections with the city’s urban fabric and defining the new square as a gathering space for relaxation and public events within a city that lacks significant civic space.

As the largest civic plaza in Nicosia, Eleftheria Square has been designed to host festivals and public events attended by thousands of the city’s residents; its upper level and supporting columns have been crafted in concrete, their sculpted forms designed to ensure structural integrity in this active seismic region.

Developed to optimize local craftsmanship and supply chains built over generations of working with concrete, the detailed workmanship and fluid forms of Eleftheria Square’s sculpted columns convey the artistry of the island’s long traditions of concrete construction.

Bridging the Venetian Wall and moat, Eleftheria Square becomes an important gate to the old city, its underground parking removing cars from the ancient city’s streets to enable further pedestrianization to enhance the urban realm of this historic district.

Eliminating the need for the car parking that currently occupies other sections of the moat will allow these spaces to be transformed in the future into new public gardens, plazas, and parks enjoyed by local residents and visitors to the city.

Project: Eleftheria Square
Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design Director: Christos Passas
Design Team: Stella Nikolakaki, Sevil Yazici, Sylvia Georgiadou, Takang Hsu, Phivos Skroumbelos, Marilena Sophocleus, Chrysi Fradellou, Edward Sorgeloose, and Vladimir Tschaly
ZHA Design Development: Dimitris Akritopoulos, Bence Pap, Kwanphil Cho, Reza Esmaeeli, Chrysi Fradellou, Raul Forsoni, Thomas Frings, Jesus Garate, Irene Guerra, George Giokalas, Spyridon Kaprinis, Javier Ernesto Lebie, Carlos Luna, Vincent Nowak, Anna Papachristoforou, Sophia Papageorgiou, Vivian Pashiali, Ivan Ucros Polley, Matthew Richardson, Michail Roidis, Hendrik Rupp, Andri Shallo, Vladimir Tschaly, Leo Alves, Megan Burke, Eleni Mente, and David McDowell
Project Supervision Team: Electra Mikelides, Dimitris Kolonis, Stella Nikolakaki, Vivian Pashiali, Christos Sazos, Nicos Yiatros, Christina Christodoulidou, and Maria-Eleni Bali
General Contractor: Lois Builders Ltd.
Client: Nicosia Municipality
Photographers: Laurian Ghinitoiu