ULLoi
Aglantzia

explore_nearby Aglantzia, Nicosia, Cyprus

INTRO

Ullοι Aglantzia is an Urban Living Lab in Nicosia, a collaborative initiative coordinated by the SURF Lab of the Department of Architecture at the University of Cyprus, in collaboration with the Municipality of Nicosia, the Cyprus Youth Council, and the Youth Board. Located in the historic core of old Aglantzia, it turns public space into a platform for participation, creativity, and learning to co-create better urban futures.

STEP 0

Setting the scope

Ullοι Aglantzia embraces collective action where civic responsibility meets creative experimentation. Our mission is to engage local communities in shaping their urban environment through inclusive co-creative processes that connect people, ideas, and places. We work with residents rather than for them, creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue and collaboration among students, youth, local authorities, and everyday city users.

We aim to address pressing local challenges, such as disconnected public spaces, limited youth participation, and the lack of inclusive platforms for democratic urban dialogue, by transforming them into opportunities for learning and innovation. Our approach strengthens community ties and empowers participants to become active contributors to neighborhood life rather than passive observers.

Through methods such as hands-on workshops, collaborative mapping, neighborhood walks, public discussions, and design and build workshops, we generate visible and tangible outcomes: small-scale urban interventions in public areas, shared community visions, and community events. These activities not only improve local spaces, but also build trust, shared ownership, and long-term engagement.

Above all, Ullοι Aglantzia is grounded in the belief that urban change should be inclusive, useful, and enjoyable. We embrace experimentation, celebrate diverse knowledge, and encourage participation as a joyful and empowering experience rooted in everyday local realities.

photo_camera INSTAGRAM

participants co-design local actions by completing mapping worksheets and discussing ideas in small groups.

participants review the project site information board to understand the planned intervention and its context.

participants jointly map issues and opportunities by sketching and annotating a shared worksheet.

participants gather to discuss the field visit and the next steps of the co-design work.

Living Lab outputs displayed on site: participants’ priorities and needs mapped through dot-voting posters.

participants annotate maps and posters to identify issues and opportunities in the area.

STEP 1

Theme Choice

Picking what matters most

We kicked things off with the Theme Choice phase, where we used a playful twist of the Structured Democratic Dialogue Process to spark fresh ideas about life in Aglantzia. Everyone was invited to have a say; locals, students, even passersby who got curious and joined in. People shared ideas, grouped them, voted for their favorites, and argued (the good kind of arguing!) about what really matters in the neighborhood. To keep it fun and accessible, we turned the emerged topics into short, creative videos, shared them online, and presented them at an open event with the presence of Mayor of Nicosia.

With the help of neighborhood walks, open conversations, and collaborative mapping, we connected the ideas to real places in Aglantzia. That’s how our five big themes came to life: Culture, Music & Events (in local courtyards and small gathering spots), Greenery & Environment (around old Aglantzia Square, Heroes’ Square, and in-between spaces), Public Space & Street Art (on walls and public spaces), Mobility & Infrastructure (sidewalks, crossings, streets), and Local Economy & Social Life (tied to squares and local places such as the Olive Mango Art Studio, and the Mikri Rodia Café).

Step by step, ideas became opportunities and neighbors became collaborators.

participants discuss and compare mapped observations posted on the wall during the field session

Step 2 Exploration

Discovering places, stories, and challenges

Exploration in Ullοι Aglantzia was a journey of discovery rooted in dialogue with the community. We stepped into the streets to meet the true experts of the neighbourhood: the people who live, walk, work, and shape it every day. With notebooks, cameras, and curiosity, we went door to door and street to street to uncover local challenges, hidden stories, and shared values that define life in old Aglantzia.

To deepen our understanding, we collaborated with architects, a landscape architect, the Organisation for Positive Urbanism (OPU NGO), and a street artist to conduct Urban Masterclasses directly in public space. These on-site sessions, held in the heart of the square and surrounding streets, enabled us to observe spatial dynamics and social interactions. Through collective walks and open discussions, we mapped public spaces, identified unused plots with potential, and revealed informal community networks.

On-site briefing in Aglantzia before the field visit.

Street stop in Aglantzia to observe the area and discuss opportunities.

We then developed future scenarios using the LEGO bricks, a hands-on tool that helped transform ideas into tangible 3D models. Working in groups, we explored scenarios related to cultural events, community gardening, temporary seating, street art, pedestrian safety, and urban equipment. Together with the Vice Mayor of Aglantzia, we located meaningful sites for intervention and evaluated opportunities and constraints. Each group presented its concept through a short and creative video pitch, laying out the foundation for a shared vision and future action.

STEP 3

Experimentation and Co-Creation

Trying things out and testing ideas built together with local communities

After exploring ideas, it was time to make things happen. The Experimentation and Co-creation phase turned ideas into real actions through hands-on teamwork. Residents, students and local experts worked together, learned from one another, and tested solutions directly in public spaces.

One of the highlights was the co-creation of a large community mural. School students from Aglantzia, architecture students from the University of Cyprus, residents, the artist Twenty Three and architects all joined forces to design and paint it. Even the Mayor of Nicosia, the Vice Mayor of Aglantzia, and the Nicosia Development Agency dropped by and joined the process. Using stencil cutting and spray painting, everyone helped shape a mural that reflects local identity and sends a message of creativity and togetherness. The wall became a shared story, built by many hands and voices.

Another key collaborative small-scale intervention was SITCom, a modular wooden structure designed for Aglantzia Square. Inspired by ideas from the exploration phase, the structure creates a flexible meeting point for cultural events, and social life. Designed and built by architecture students with support from UCY Fab Lab, experts and architects, the project moved from sketches and brainstorming to fabrication, mock-ups, and full-scale testing. Made from birch plywood using a waffle construction system, SITCom can be taken apart, reassembled, and adapted as needs may change.

This phase showed how collaboration can shape real spaces. It proved that when people build together, they also build trust, skills, and community ownership, one idea at a time.

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Community mural in progress: a group paints a nature-themed wall in the neighbourhood.

Hands-on mural making: two people use a stencil and spray paint to create green shapes on the wall.

Assembling a modular wooden installation on site, preparing compartments for the final setup.

Climbing plant added to a temporary wooden structure as part of a small-scale greening action.

STEP 4

Urban Showcase

Bringing it all to the city

Poster announcing Musical Courtyards in old Aglantzia.

The Ullοι Aglantzia took over the historic core of old Aglantzia with two lively showcase events that brought people, ideas, music, and cycling together in unexpected ways.

The Cycling Tour, co-organised with the Organisation for Positive Urbanism (OPU) and supported by nextbike Cyprus, invited participants to roll through the Aglantzia’s streets, discovering hidden corners and new possibilities for sustainable urban mobility. It wasn’t just a ride, it became a moving conversation about micromobility, community connection, and the ongoing activities of Ullοι Aglantzia.

Musical Courtyards transformed the neighborhood into an open-air celebration. Local courtyards filled with music and light as visitors wandered through the streets, discovered the wooden structure SITCom at Kyriakou Karaoli Square, and learned more about the actions of Ullοι Aglantzia. Five different music performances, from jazz and traditional tunes to art and experimental sounds, set the rhythm for an evening of shared food, drinks, and community spirit. The event was attended by the Mayor of Nicosia and the Vice Mayor of Aglantzia, highlighting the importance of collaboration between municipalities, academia, and the local community. The event was co-organised by the SURF Lab (University of Cyprus) and the Triaglis Community Group, was held under the auspices of the Municipality of Nicosia and was supported by local enterprises and businesses. It also aims to become an annual tradition for the neighborhood, showcasing how collaboration, creativity, youth energy, and participation can turn public space into a shared, living experience.

Cycling Tour stop in Kyriakou Karaoli Square.

Illustrated roadmap for participatory, sustainable urban governance.

Musical Courtyards poster alongside a Cycling Tour snapshot.

Live music in a courtyard during Musical Courtyards.

Evening gathering in the historic core during Musical Courtyards.

User led video stories

Vignettes from Sf:ius

The table where the laser-cut pieces lay quickly becomes a small workshop. Students lean in, their fingertips darkened by the singed edges of freshly cut plywood. Piece by piece, they begin assembling the prototype, debating orientations and fit. What looks straightforward on the screen reveals hidden complexities in real space. They check pencil markings, flip through design sketches, and refer back to the digital plans as they test each joint.

The architectural object has occupied them for the better part of a week. Before starting the design, they spent several days with mentors and researchers learning the principles of waffle structures—the interlocking slats, the load-bearing logic, the geometric constraints. Now, having completed their first design, they are building a small-scale prototype to verify that every intersection aligns as intended. Their focus is absolute; the model begins to rise from the table as a recognizable form: a shaded bench.

The prototype is only the beginning. Next weekend they will cut the full-scale version and assemble it on site together. Their excitement is palpable. As one student puts it, “As architects we always design… we do this each year. But this is the first time our designs are not going to stay on paper or in a model for our exams. We’re actually gonna build it!” The prototype confirms some elements and reveals flaws in others; this is precisely the value of the process. As soon as they identify an issue, they rush to their laptops to adjust the model, trading quick comments and diagrams across screens. Between tasks they joke about possible names, playing with the words “waffle”, “ulloi Aglantzia”, and “ULL”, testing combinations that sound just absurd enough to stick.

The bench they are building is meant for the Old Square in Aglantzia, a historic neighbourhood within Nicosia. The surrounding area is mostly residential; commercial and social contents have slowly shifted into other urban zones; only the Small Pomegranate caffe remains; the square, once a natural gathering point, has grown quiet over the years. The University had renovated a building at the square; the HyBuild centre for teaching and working. Residents have expressed a desire for something to activate the space - “somewhere to sit,” as many put it, “somewhere to gather.” The bench is a modest intervention, but one that reconnects the students’ design education to a specific urban fabric and to the everyday needs of a community.

In this small room, among scattered plywood pieces and glowing laptop screens, the project becomes more than a fabrication exercise. It becomes an experiment in place-making: a student-built structure aimed at restoring a sense of presence and possibility in a local square.

STEP 5

Evaluation

Looking back to move forward

From the very beginning, the Ulloι Aglantzia Urban Living Lab was a shared learning journey, a space where school students, architecture students, residents, and municipal representatives came together to explore, imagine, and build a vision for their neighborhood. We started with simple questions: Why are you here? What do you hope to learn? Early questionnaires helped us understand expectations and motivations. During the workshops, we kept the conversation alive through open discussions and real-time feedback with Mentimeter, sharing thoughts, adjusting plans, and shaping the process together. By the end, more structured surveys, semi-structured interviews, and reflective reports helped us look back and see just how much had changed.

Throughout the evaluation, we gathered insights from all participants and stakeholders. The overall feedback was overwhelmingly positive: the experience was creative, hands-on, and inspiring. Beyond acquiring technical and design skills, participants developed soft ones such as collaboration, empathy, communication, and the ability to listen and adapt. Almost everyone said they would gladly take part again, valuing the open discussions, the creative energy, and the satisfaction of seeing their ideas take real form. The Lab wasn’t just about making things, it changed how people thought. Understanding of urban commons and living labs grew deeper, shifting from uncertainty to seeing them as collective, collaborative spaces for experimentation. Ideas about citizen participation also evolved, from something abstract to something real and practiced, where everyone’s voice counts.

Students also began to see architects not only as designers but as facilitators, listeners, and community collaborators. They connected architecture with its social dimension, realizing how design can nurture inclusion, empathy, and shared identity. By the end, Ulloι Aglantzia was more than a project; it became a living example of how collaboration can transform both places and people.