WELCOME GATE INSTALLATIONS FOR PAFOS2017

From Cyprus Mail - article by Bejay Browne 16/1/2017

TEN new installations at the main entrances to Paphos town are being erected ahead of the official Pafos2017 cultural capital opening ceremony to be held on January 28. They have been designed by a group of Paphos architects and are made of concrete and corten weathering steel.

“The mayor of Paphos asked us to create something different and exciting to mark the entrances to Paphos,” said one of the project’s creators, designer and architect Chrisafeni Theodoulou.
She explained that the monument, which is made up of two different parts, depicts the letter P in Greek, the first letter of Paphos.

Each installation is made of two separate parts, a white concrete column which she said represents the history and civilisation of Paphos and another crafted in corten weathering steel which marks new beginnings for Paphos, the future and the contemporary surroundings, she said.

“The metal structure has the design of Paphos lighthouse cut into it and this is a symbol of the light of Paphos, of new beginnings and the era which we want to come.”

A spokesman for the municipality said that the installations are also a welcome ‘gate’ for Paphos and are found along some of the boundaries of Paphos which connect the town with the surrounding areas.
“The largest of them all stands at four and a half metres on the roundabout close to the highway to Limassol as this is the main entrance to the city,” he said.  “We are expecting all ten to be finished by the end of the week.”

He said that the corten needs to weather for around a year when it will reach its full ‘orange’ colour and any rusting will then stop.  It was developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance as if exposed to the weather for several years.

“The monuments will also be lit up from inside using LED lighting; there will also be in floor lighting to illuminate it at night-time as well.”