Participation of the Architect and the Users in the Building Process

This paper presents the case study of the Korinthos apartment building in Nicosia, Cyprus, designed in concert with Christopher Alexander's principles of an integrated design process to create envrionmental wholeness. The building has six, three-bedroom apartments with a common entrance court and a subterranean parking. The author designed this buiding and managed its construction with a small group of subcontractors. The users were also actively involved in the building process. The users had the opportunity to lay out their dwellings while the building was constructed. They adjusted and modified the interior and exterior spaces and chose finishes, colors and other fixtures to personalize their dwellings. The author/architect also personally became involved in construction and built design object with his own hands, such as handmade tiles, concrete handrails, and a fountain. These elements, inspired by the local arts and crafts, have added to the character and identity of the building.