The world after World War II was changing rapidly. A powerful economic, social, cultural, and technical impetus involved the island. In response to these trends, the British administration opened the first Technical Schools in Limassol and Nicosia. The design conceptions of these schools were created by Orman and Partners, traces of whom I also found in the architectural life of Kenya, a part of the British Empire at that time.
Comparing this building with famous school buildings of the previous period, such as the English School and the Pankrition Lyceum (both in Nicosia), one can feel the rhythm of the global 1950s: the new architecture does not have strong main accents, you won’t even immediately tell where the main entrance or the principal’s building is, because there are no towers and colonnades showing the hierarchy. What matters is accommodation and convenience, instead of ornateness.
The main element of the composition is the open galleries reminding the Peripatetic school of Ancient Greece philosophy: it’s no stretch to believe that students walk underthese porticoes and discuss supersonic aircrafts, new car engines, and interstellar adventures. A local material, beige Cypriot limestone, which we will see a lot more of on this street, was introduced into the design.
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