PSI FOUNDATION
THE NON-PROFIT PSI FOUNDATION WAS ESTABLISHED IN LIMASSOL IN 2024 WITH THE MISSION TO SUPPORT AND CULTIVATE THE THRIVING ARTISTIC LANDSCAPE OF CYPRUS. CENTRAL TO ITS VISION IS THE PROMOTION OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN DIALOGUE WITH TECHNOLOGY. THROUGH CURATED EXHIBITIONS, COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS, AND CREATIVE SESSIONS, THE FOUNDATION STRIVES TO CHALLENGE PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE CONVERGENCE OF ART AND TECHNOLOGY AND INSPIRE AUDIENCES TO EXPLORE NEW REALMS OF POSSIBILITY. AS PART OF ITS DEDICATION TO SHOWCASING THE RICH TAPESTRY OF CYPRIOT ART, THE FOUNDATION PROUDLY SUPPORTED THE CYPRUS NATIONAL PAVILION AT THE 60TH VENICE BIENNALE AND HOSTED A NETWORKING EVENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EUROPEAN MEDIA ART PLATFORM AND NEME ART. ANOTHER MISSION OF THE FOUNDATION CONSISTS OF PRESERVING THE HISTORIC CAROB WAREHOUSE OF LIMASSOL AND ENVISAGING ITS FUTURE USE. BY PRESENTING FOUR ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS OF POTENTIAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE BUILDING INTO A SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL HUB FOR THE CITY THE PSI FOUNDATION OPENS DIALOGUE TO FOSTER A COLLECTIVE VISION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS ICONIC CITY LANDMARK IN THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF CYPRUS.
THE PLACE
TO STORE CAROB
ΤHE FRUITS OF THE EVERGREEN MEDITERRANEAN CAROB TREE WIDELY HAVE BEEN CULTIVATED IN CYPRUS AT LEAST SINCE THE 1ST CENTURY AD. THE CAROB TREE BLOSSOMS IN SUMMER, ITS MATURE PODS REACHING UP TO 30 CM IN LENGTH. HIGHLY NUTRITIOUS AND FULL OF SUGAR, CAROB PODS WERE FED TO CATTLE; IN THE 20TH CENTURY THEY WERE ALSO USED IN COSMETICS, MEDICINE AND FILM PRODUCTION. CAROB SEED, CHARACTERISED BY ITS CONSTANCY OF WEIGHT AND SIZE, HAS SERVED AS A STANDARD MEASURE OF MASS AND VOLUME SINCE EARLY TIMES. THE WORD ‘CARAT’, A UNIT OF MASS USED FOR MEASURING GEMSTONES AND PEARLS, DERIVES FROM THE GREEK KERATION MEANING CAROB SEED. CAROB PODS, OFTEN CALLED ‘CYPRUS BLACK GOLD’, WERE THE ISLAND’S MAJOR EXPORT.
HISTORY & THE BUILDING
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT CONSTRUCTED WAREHOUSES FOLLOWING THE ROMAN MODEL IN ORDER TO STORE AND DRY CAROB FRUITS PRIOR TO TRANSFERRING THEM TO SHIPS VIA JETTIES. A TYPICAL CAROB WAREHOUSE IN CYPRUS IS A SINGLE-STOREY RECTANGULAR BUILDING CLOSE TO THE SEASHORE. THIS TRADITION WAS FOLLOWED BY THE TEKTON DUO TO CREATE THE CAROB WAREHOUSE IN LIMASSOL. THE BUILDING HAD A SHORT PERIOD OF USE SINCE THE CAROB TRADE COLLAPSED IN CYPRUS IN THE 1960S DUE TO POLITICAL INSTABILITY. THE CONSTRUCTION GRADUALLY DETERIORATED FROM THE NATURAL EFFECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT. IN 2014 THE BUILDING WAS LISTED AMONG THE 100 OUTSTANDING WORKS OF CYPRIOT MODERNISM. IN 2024 THE PSI FOUNDATION WAS ESTABLISHED IN LIMASSOL WITH THE MISSION TO SUPPORT AND DEVELOP ART IN CYPRUS IN RELATION TO TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS TO STUDY AND PRESERVE THE BUILDING AS AN OUTSTANDING MONUMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE.
THE AREA OF TSIFLIKOUDIA
THE QUARTER CALLED TSIFLIKOUDIA (ÇIFTLIKLER) IS LOCATED TO THE SOUTH-WEST OF THE CENTER OF LIMASSOL. THIS AREA WAS REPUTED TO HAVE BEEN INHABITED BY BOTH GREEK AND TURKISH CYPRIOTS WHO USED TO LIVE AND WORK SIDE BY SIDE. THE NAME TSIFLIKOUDIA DERIVES FROM A COMBINATION OF THE TURKISH WORD ÇIFTLIK, MEANING CULTIVATED LAND AND SMALL SETTLEMENT, WITH THE GREEK ENDING, -OUDIA. THE OWNER OF TSIFLIKOUDIA IS SAID TO HAVE CULTIVATED TOBACCO, CAROB PODS REMAINING ONE OF THE TRADITIONAL PRODUCTS FOR HARVESTING.
TSIFLIKOUDIA’S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BEGAN TO GROW IN THE 1930S. SHIPWRIGHT WORKSHOPS FOR MAINTAINING OR CONSTRUCTING SMALL BOATS WERE ESTABLISHED THERE; THEN CAME THE ISLAND’S FIRST WINERIES FOLLOWED BY CRAFT WORKSHOPS AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL UNITS ALONG THE COAST. BY THE MID-20TH CENTURY THE WHOLE OF THIS COASTAL AREA WAS FULLY INDUSTRIALISED. IT REMAINS ONE OF THE CITY’S MORE DEPRIVED AREAS WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SHOWCASING SOME OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF CYPRIOT INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE. MANY BUILDINGS IN TSIFLIKOUDIA HAVE BEEN RECENTLY LISTED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS. AFTER LIMASSOL’S NEW PORT WAS BUILT, THE CITY DEVELOPED PLANS TO UPGRADE THE AREA, REJUVENATING AND BEAUTIFYING ITS STRETCH OF COAST.
THE MASTERPIECE OF CYPRUS MODERN MOUVEMENT
ΑN OUTSTANDING MONUMENT OF THE CYPRIOT MODERN MOVEMENT, THE ΑΠΟΘΉΚΗ ΧΑΡΟΥΠΙΏΝ, OR CAROB WAREHOUSE, CAN BE CONSIDERED A SYMBOL OF CYPRIOT INDEPENDENCE. IT WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE CAROB DISTRIBUTION COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION OF LIMASSOL AND CONCEIVED BY CIVIL ENGINEER ANDREAS PAPADOPOULOS AND ARCHITECT PHOEBUS POLYDORIDES. THE CONTRACTOR WAS CHRISTOS CHRISTIDES, WHO COMPLETED THE CONSTRUCTION IN 1960.
Α VERTICAL TRANSPORTER DELIVERED CAROB PODS TO THE TOP OF THE TOWER WHERE THEY WERE RELOADED ONTO A CONVEYOR BELT RUNNING ALONG THE UPPER GALLERY, TO BE DISTRIBUTED OVER THE ENTIRE SPACE ALONG THE CENTRAL AXIS. THE SHAPE OF THE BUILDING SUCCESSFULLY MIRRORED THE FORM OF THE CAROB HEAP IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE INTERIOR COULD BE FILLED ALMOST ENTIRELY WITHOUT WASTING SPACE. THE GATES WERE OPENED TO ALLOW TRUCKS TO UNLOAD THE DRIED PRODUCT. DESIGNED WITH THE STRONG ELEGANCE OF PARABOLIC FORM, THE CONSTRUCTION CONSISTS OF 16 LOAD-BEARING ARCHES OF REINFORCED CONCRETE FABRICATED ON SITE. THE INFILL WAS MADE OF PRECAST CONCRETE SLABS. THE INTERIOR AREA IS 1,500 SQUARE METRES, WITH A CENTRAL HEIGHT OF 14.5 METRES. THE MODERN MOVEMENT IN ARCHITECTURE SERVED AS A MANIFESTATION OF FREEDOM AND RAPID MODERNISATION IN CYPRUS. MANY TOWNS OF THIS NEWLY ESTABLISHED STATE QUICKLY BEGAN TO BE SHAPED BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS. NEOPTOLEMOS MICHAELIDIS (1920–93), A PROMINENT ARCHITECT OF THE CYPRIOT MODERN MOVEMENT, WOULD HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE LIMASSOL CAROB WAREHOUSE. HIS FAMOUS CHURCH OF APOSTLE BARNABAS AND ST MAKARIOS IN NICOSIA, BUILT IN THE 1970S AND COMPRISING TWO PARABOLIC VAULTS CONNECTED BY A CONTINUOUS ROW OF WINDOWS, FOLLOWS AND FURTHER DEVELOPS THE ENGINEERING SOLUTION FIRST REALISED IN LIMASSOL. THE CREATION IN 1960 OF THE ELEGANT CAROB WAREHOUSE IN LIMASSOL’S INDUSTRIAL ZONE WAS A REVOLUTIONARY MOVE.
ANDREAS PAPADOPOULOS
Engineer of the Carob Warehouse
ANDREAS PAPADOPOULOS WAS BORN IN LIMASSOL ON 12 JUNE 1922 AS THE SON OF A BAKER. EDUCATED AT THE LIMASSOL GREEK GYMNASIUM HE STUDIED IN ATHENS AND , BY CORRESPONDENCE, IN LONDON. AFTER WORKING IN GREECE HE CAME BACK TO CYPRUS IN 1954 WHERE HE STARTED TO PERFORM INDUSTRIAL AND CIVIL PROJECTS IN LIMASSOL AND CONSULTED THE LOCAL ENGINEER’S OFFICE. “GREEK BY NATIONALITY, AS THE PEOPLE OF THE VERY GREAT MAJORITY IN CYPRUS ARE”, AS HE DESCRIBED HIMSELF AT THE AGE OF 30, HE ALSO LAUNCHED HIS POLITICAL CAREER IN CYPRUS AIMED AT THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE ISLAND. THE BRITISH ARRESTED HIM IN 1956 AND PUT INTO A DETENTION CENTRE FOR THREE YEARS. HIS FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE ARCHITECT PHOEBUS POLYDORIDES FREQUENTED HIM THERE WITH VARIOUS PROJECTS IN HAND THAT BOTH OF THEM COULD DESIGN AND CALCULATE. THEY CALLED THEIR TECHNICAL DUO ‘TEKTON’. THE CAROB WAREHOUSE BECAME THE CLIMAX OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL UNION.
AFTER CYPRUS REACHED ITS INDEPENDENCE PAPADOPOULOS WAS ELECTED MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT IN THE LIMASSOL CONSTITUENCY. HOWEVER BEFORE THE VERY FIRST PARLIAMENTARY SESSION HE WAS APPOINTED MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND WORKS AT THE GOVERNMENT OF ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS III THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS. HIS ACTIVITY INCLUDED ADMINISTRATION OF THE BUILDING OF THE COUNTRY’S SYSTEM OF COMMUNICATIONS SUCH AS ROADS, HARBOURS AND AIRPORTS. HE HELD THIS POST FROM 1960 TO 1966. AFTER THE RESIGNATION PAPADOPOULOS BECAME THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE YERMASOYIA DAM, AN IMPORTANT 50 M HIGH CONSTRUCTION NEARBY LIMASSOL THAT WAS COMPLETED IN 1968. IN LATER YEARS HE WAS BUSY WITH PLANNING AND SUPERVISION OF CIVIL ENGINEERING PROJECTS IN CYPRUS, SUDAN AND UAE. HE DIED IN LIMASSOL IN 2009.
PHOEBUS POLYDORIDES
Architect
ARCHITECT PHOEBUS POLYDORIDES WAS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT REPRESENTATIVES OF MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS. AFTER STUDYING ARCHITECTURE IN SWITZERLAND, HE RETURNED TO LIMASSOL WHERE, IN THE MID-1950S, HE CO-FOUNDED THE TEKTON TECHNICAL OFFICE WITH CIVIL ENGINEER ANDREAS PAPADOPOULOS. THEIR COLLABORATION PRODUCED A NUMBER OF INFLUENTIAL PROJECTS THAT HELPED SHAPE THE POST-WAR ARCHITECTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE CITY, INCLUDING INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, AND THE FORMER CAROB WAREHOUSE, TODAY HOME TO PSI FOUNDATION.
POLYDORIDES’ WORK COMBINED MODERNIST PRINCIPLES WITH EXPERIMENTATION, CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND A SENSITIVE RESPONSE TO CLIMATE AND PLACE. OPERATING IN A PERIOD OF LIMITED CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES ON THE ISLAND, HE DEVELOPED INVENTIVE STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS AND A HANDS-ON APPROACH TO BUILDING. TODAY, HIS ARCHIVE AND BUILT WORK PROVIDE VALUABLE INSIGHT INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE IN CYPRUS AND ITS ENDURING URBAN LEGACY.