Larnaca has broken ground on a landmark €30 million Art and Design Centre, set to be completed by 2030. Designed by world-renowned British firm Foster and Partners, the project will also feature the Museum of People and serve as the flagship of the city’s European Capital of Culture bid.
A Cultural Hub for the Future
The complex will be built on a 4,000-square-metre seaside plot, granted by the Petrolina Group as compensation. The site, located next to the American University of Cyprus, forms part of the wider ‘Larnaca – Land of Tomorrow’ regeneration zone.
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The aim is for the centre to become a landmark for both the new district and the city as a whole, and for that reason, Foster, who also designed the area’s masterplan, was chosen to lead the project.
A World-Class Cultural Institution
The centre will consist of three core structures: the Art Centre, the Design Centre, and the Museum of People. According to Kelly Diapouli, artistic director of Larnaca 2030, the initiative is “a cultural centre that does not exist in Cyprus” and will serve as the organisation’s main operational base.
The Art Centre will feature two performance spaces, including one reconfigurable hall with a capacity of 1,000 to 1,500 people. The Design Centre, meanwhile, will focus on creative innovation by combining local tradition with modern production methods.
The third component is the Museum of People, developed by Joseph Hadjikyriakos as an evolution of the Larnaca Archives, Phoebus Stavridis. Described as an ‘anti-museum’, it will turn everyday objects into stories through curated art and technology.
Visitors will be able to experience the space interactively through an app that personalises their journey. As previously reported, the Museum of People will give the substance of the point where identities are defined, importance is given to memory, but also the possibility of creating the future.
