THE massive new Stoa entertainment and events complex is the latest and most ambitious attempt yet to lure Nicosia’s rich, youngish things into the narrow, winding streets of the old city after dark.
Billed as “a unique multiplex offering 2500 metres of food and beverage, entertainment and event spaces”, Stoa’s original, post-1960 structure has been transformed into a concrete and glass, ultra modern construction.
Its gleaming facade and sharp lines are in marked contrast to other buildings in the immediate, mostly non-residential area, which is home to a dilapidated mix of 1970s drab industrial constructions and older, traditional sandstone houses – long turned into workshops – and in various states of decay. It is a promising sign that this area is getting a long overdue facelift.
And yet the bright lights and shiny surfaces are also a radical departure from the traditional style that gives much of old Nicosia its charm. For some residents and local business owners, the facelift is more Californian Nip and Tuck than Venetian Mask. “It’s like clubbing in the Mall,” said one Saturday night reveller.
Stoa is the brainchild of two property developers, Michael Scoufalides, an affable local developer with an MIT MBA and a vice-like handshake, and Stavros Sakkis, his more muted sidekick.
I met the duo as they prepared for one of the 40 bookings that they have already taken since they opened earlier in the summer; this one a perfume launch.
Asked what inspired the project, Scoufalides said: “We are both lovers of Nicosia and have developed a few buildings already here. We settled on the idea for this after looking at what was missing in other venues. We saw we had the best chance to make the project work here, so two years ago we bought the site and began building.”
The original plan had been to build Regus-style office rental space, but soon after beginning they switched to the idea of a multiplex and began work on the venue in its current form. “We changed the concept 14 months ago, because we really wanted to make a venue that could do every kind of event and cater to every type of event. We are now the only venue that can do this.”
It is clear that this is first and foremost a money-spinner, the design geared towards flashy corporate events and large weddings. However, unlike other buildings with the same aim – and you need only go as far as Makarios Ave or The Mall to see them – there is something different and strangely alluring about its arrangement.
The design’s strength lies in its versatility; it is like a Swiss army knife with iPod styling.
For example, it can host 2000 people for weddings, high profile conferences or club nights simultaneously, and even offer punters pasta at 5am before they go home. Such multiplexes have traditionally been an architectural and stylistic mine-field, and it is to their credit that they have produced a mostly coherent and highly adaptable set up.
The compromises along the way are in some parts genius and others quirky. The banqueting suite is a case in point. For example, one wall of the tennis court-sized area is comprised of rotating glass panels which can concertina out to open up the whole upstairs area. This is ideal for giant corporate events, and easily curtained off to create a cosy marquee effect. However, to create a sense of medieval grandeur – or something – giant copper doors at the other end open out onto a viewing gallery with laminated grey flooring. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but it is certainly original.
Asked about the original structure, he said “This was originally a one storey building, and we really wanted the second floor to match this, so it looked like a single building.”
It is arguably coherent. Continuity between the floors is stated by an extending roof and mezzanine, and there is something of Corb’s Villa Savoie about it, though with the open facade on both floors and curved glass windows it is distinctly functionalist.
The Stoa blurb describes it as “a distinctive building of modern structure, yet with components of historic architecture.” This is true, but only just, and you have to look quite hard to see old components. The bar’s wooden parquet walls lend a Swiss chalet feel, and throughout the ground floor they have kept the traditional Nicosian mosaic flooring.
My suspicions about exactly how much of the original they retained were confirmed in the bar later on. “We knocked a lot of it down and started again,” said their events manager Pavlos Pavlou.
The question on everyone’s lips is how much it cost. Scoufalides was aloof on the subject.
“Well, I can say we did go over our budget of $4.5 million – this was because we decided to bring our plans forward and have everything put in at the beginning.” Local speculation ranged from a modest $4 million to an eye watering $7 million.
“I tell you, I think those guys are crazy. If I had $7m in the bank I would be the king of Cyprus!” said one neighbouring shopkeeper.
With the old city being such a historic area where building is supposedly strictly controlled, you might expect the Municipality to have baulked at both its modern design and the traffic chaos it causes particularly at weekends, despite the parking attendants especially employed to help.
“We were lucky to have the help of the municipality committee for aesthetics. They helped tremendously with design advice, and we incorporated all their recommendations. They ensured all our applications were correct,” said Scoufalides.
Certainly, Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou has declared herself a fan of the project.
“The Municipality welcomes developments such as the Stoa, which has not only served to restore a building that has been abandoned for years, but also offers choices in the entertainment sector and attracts people to the area; mainly in the evenings,” she said. “The building’s appearance was accepted by the aesthetics committee based on accepting the co-existence of modern with old.”
The traffic and parking issue, she admitted, is a problem. “This is something which the owners will have to cope with,” she said. “But there are options, as just a few metres away there is a municipal parking area that can be of service.”
The response from people in the area has ranged from the indifferent to the tepid. In spite of this, the venue’s 60 employees have been working solidly since its ‘soft’ opening in the summer. The official opening, I was told, would happen when President Demetris Christofias could confirm his attendance.
Wandering back through the square, I called in on a shop owner, Alexis, to gauge the local opinion. “I think we need to preserve the character of old town,” he said. “If we don’t do this it will all become like Makarios Avenue or the Mall. I sell contemporary design products and modern art, but I have kept the traditional exterior of our shop.”
Stoa is an ambitious and far reaching new step towards reviving an area with a lot of potential, but it seems the jury is out on whether it is in the right direction.
