Cyprus Architects Reimagined: The EKKY Studio’s Intentional Approach
An Interview with Kenzo Yamashita By Ollimono Magazine | 29th May 2025
Good architecture doesn’t shout. But it should always have something to say. When most of the houses follow a safe formula of wide windows, neutral walls, and off-the-shelf solutions. Every so often, you see something different. Something that feels like it was designed — not just built.
That’s what EKKY Studio Architects does. Their work doesn’t follow a style. It follows intention.
And that’s why we’re telling this story.
BEN House — their bold, sculptural project overlooking Peyia Bay — is far more than an architectural statement. It’s a home designed with performance, clarity, and flow in mind. Every line, material, and spatial rhythm exists for a reason — responding not only to the client’s needs but to the land itself. This kind of thoughtful, context-driven architecture is rare anywhere. In Cyprus? It’s almost radical.
Not Just Different — Deliberate
When we spoke with Kenzo Yamashita, co-founder of EKKY Studio and lead architect of BEN House, it became clear that what makes this studio exceptional isn’t scale or flash. It’s how deeply they think.
“From the very beginning, we designed BEN House not just in plan, but in section,” Kenzo tells us. “Because of the steep slope of the land, we didn’t want to just place a box on the hill — we wanted the house to descend with the landscape. To feel like it belonged.”
So instead of forcing symmetry or mimicking a standard template, EKKY carved the house into three levels that gradually step down toward the sea. Each floor is part of a larger sequence — a vertical journey that reveals space, light, and view slowly and intentionally. From the entrance gym and spa to the central living space to the bedrooms below, the experience is curated, not accidental.
Performance Architecture — Made to Fit
What makes EKKY’s work feel so aligned with a high-performance lifestyle is exactly that: it’s not style for style’s sake. It’s about supporting a way of living. BEN House was created for a famous weightlifter, entrepreneur, and someone who needed their home to work as hard as they do. Train. Focus. Relax. Repeat.
And so EKKY Studio delivered a space that holds each of those functions without compromise. The upper floor? A zone for discipline and routine. The middle? A fluid indoor-outdoor area for family and connection. The lower floor? Complete retreat and recovery. The architecture reflects the lifestyle of someone who knows what balance looks like — and needs their space to support it.
Concrete as Topography, Void as Function
Materiality, too, was no afterthought. The curved concrete slabs that define the home’s form weren’t just a stylistic choice — they echo the undulating Cypriot landscape, blurring the line between structure and terrain. The vertical spine garden carved through the center of the home acts as both a connective axis and a passive cooling strategy — bringing light, shadow, and air into every level while anchoring the movement of the house.
What’s most compelling is the way absence becomes presence: empty spaces are treated with as much care as built ones. Voids aren’t gaps — they are tools for slowing you down, framing a view, or guiding your next step. You feel it as you move: a subtle rhythm of compression and release, of structure and pause. This is architecture that thinks about how you feel before it tells you what to look at.
“There’s always a reason behind every choice.”
Now, let’s be honest for a moment. In Cyprus, it’s easy to fall into familiar patterns — reliable layouts repeated over and over again. But BEN House stands apart. Not for being louder — but for being more deliberate. This is architecture that doesn’t rely on aesthetic trends or default templates — it’s intentional down to the smallest detail.
This kind of thoughtful, purpose-driven design is rare. It requires restraint. It requires clarity. And in EKKY Studio Architects’s case, it’s what makes their work quietly radical.
“Luxury is quality, not cost.”
Material choices here aren’t dictated by budget extremes — not the most expensive, nor the most basic. They’re selected with precision, based on climate, performance, and client need. “Cyprus has very harsh summers,” Kenzo explains. “So we always think about how to cool spaces naturally, how to ventilate crosswise, how to protect materials from UV damage. It’s never about luxury in price — it’s about quality in experience.”
That’s something we at OLLIMONO care deeply about: true luxury is not about cost. It’s about how a space feels. How it performs under pressure. How it lets you reset, breathe, and begin again.
The Personal Behind the Practice
What we didn’t expect to find in this story is how closely Kenzo’s own life mirrors the values in his work. He’s not just designing for performance — he’s living it.
“I’ve been a triathlete for the past five years,” he tells us. “Sports help me stay focused and manage stress — they’re part of my rhythm.”
He trains across Cyprus year-round: trail running in Troodos, cycling through Larnaka, swimming off Cavo Greco. That experience — of being in the landscape, of needing space to move and breathe — feeds directly into his design. His architecture isn’t just thoughtful. It’s lived.
And if you ever wonder whether EKKY Studio Architects practice what they preach — you should see the home that Kenzo shares with his partner in life and architecture, Elina Kritikou, co-founder of EKKY Studio. The two kindly invited us into their personal space, and it’s a statement in itself: quiet, sculptural, deeply intentional. They don’t just design like this for clients. They believe in it. They live it.
This Is What Design Can Do
At OLLIMONO, we don’t just write about buildings. We write about environments that shape high-performance living. Because ultimate performance isn’t just about high energy — it’s about living with intention. And that includes the spaces we inhabit.
To live intentionally is to build intentionally. And EKKY’s architecture is the clearest expression of that mindset we’ve seen.
BEN House is just one example of the kind of quiet power this studio is capable of. Their portfolio is growing — and evolving — and we can’t wait to see what else they have in store.
Because this isn’t just architecture that looks good.
It’s architecture that works harder, thinks smarter, and lives with purpose.