Carob Warehouse Limassol

Carob mills and warehouses constitute a significant part of the industrial heritage in Cyprus, directly related to trading. In particular, the fact that Limassol has been, and still is, the island’s main port meant that these kinds of buildings were constructed close to the port. Already, some of these had been successfully repurposed for new uses such as light entertainment and cultural events.  This particular building, however, has occasionally been used for its original purpose.

The main characteristic features of the structure are the parabolic form of the basic volume and the centrally placed perpendicular volume housing the lift. The basic storage space is constructed through the utilisation of a number of concrete parabolic vaults that constitute a frame, with infill panels made of prefabricated concrete slabs. The tower containing the lift is constructed out of rough reinforced concrete, giving structural stability to the whole. This structurally highly efficient composite offers the required strength to withhold the horizontal forces of the stored carob paste.

It appears that the overall simplicity, both conceptual and technical, of this brutalist structure, might have inspired modernist architect Neoptolemos Michaelides in his design of the Apostle Varnavas and St. Makarios Church in Nicosia in the 1970s.

Researcher Achilleas Kentonis