Category: housing

The location of the new residential neighborhood is at the intersection of the urban city feature and the landscape-diverse space between the fields and the Ljubljanica River. The correct placement of the new residential neighborhood in the space can enhance the urbanity of the area, which already has an extension in the existing local center with a public program along Litijska Street, and at the same time establish new connections that will enable greater integration of the area into the green system between Golovec and the Ljubljanica River.

The concept of the new residential neighborhood is based on five architectural and urban planning principles: the placement of 3 slender lamellas in the east-west direction, which define the future profile of Litijska street with a public program, delimit the bank on the northern edge of the location and form a transition between longitudinal and point-by-point roadside construction; the establishment of a central transitional green public space of the neighborhood in the east-west direction, intended exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists, which connects the neighborhood with the system of surrounding park and sports areas; the central public space of the neighborhood transitions into a semi-circular structure of porches with entrances to the apartments on the northern side of the lamellas, which define the duality of the buildings: on the southern side, the buildings are embedded in the urban city line and on the northern side in the structure of the green system; the slenderness of the lamellas enables a two-sided orientation of all apartments, with good two-sided lighting and ventilation and with open views to the south (Golovec) and north (Kamniške Alpe). The circular floor plan allows for flexibility, consistent separation of living and sleeping areas, and visually enlarges the modest living space.

The spatial concept of the new building on Erjavčeva Street in Ljubljana is derived from three spatial elements that materialize the memory of the demolished Villa Bahovec and articulate the open public space of the city at the end of the axis of Ravnikar´s Trg republike square. The slender building volume defines the edge of the public space between Gregorčičeva and Erjavčeva and leaves an open passage from Trg republike square. The new plinth defines the border between public and semi-public space and materializes the perimeter of the demolished villa. The residential volume floating above the plinth follows the heights and facade lines of the surrounding buildings.

The architectural design of the building establishes a platform with a staircase and a ramp that runs along the park and connects to the existing staircase in front of the Majde Vrhovnik Elementary School. The platform creates the character of a high ground floor, under which there is a basement with parking and service areas. From Erjavčeva street the ground floor descends slightly into the public program (e.g. gallery) between the perimeter walls, which follow the line of the perimeter walls of the former Villa Bahovec. Via ramp, the ground floor rises to a platform from which we enter the residential part of the building, which comprises 4 floors and a public program on the platform level (e.g. a bookstore). The division of the building volume into two staggered lamellas oriented north-south enables a favorable orientation of the rooms to the east and west and the division of the floor plan into additional mezzanines. The apartments consist of a living room and two mezzanines with bedrooms. Mezzanines enable greater utilization of the building volume and flexibility of apartment types by maintaining the floor plan.

Maribor’s Magdalena district marks the transition from a compact area of city squares to a scattered buildings in the green. The location of the new building follows the street lines and adapts to them in both horizontal and vertical dimensions. The compact building volume occupies only 50% of the land area and allows the other 50% to be used for green areas. On one side, the perimeter building closes the building island with an urban street facade and on the other side surrounds a safe inner atrium with a children’s playground. The building is designed as a generator of the urbanity of the city area, as a public program is located in the corner of the ground floor for everyone (cafe, co-working space, repair shop, exchange office, mobility center, etc.).

Most apartments have two-sided orientation. The vertical communications are on the street façade and next to them are few one-sided apartments, looking towards the park. The two-sided orientation ensures quality views, quality ventilation and better contact of the apartments both with the natural environment in the atrium as well as with the city street. The apartments enable a flexible way of living, which offers young people and young families from different social, cultural and economic backgrounds deep living spaces with a circular floor plan and variable room layout. The project also envisages the recycling of waste concrete and bricks of existing buildings by processing them into cement clinker for the concrete construction of new ones.

The space between Golovec and the Ljubljana Marshes is marked by the geometry of the marsh “štradons” – paths that define the parcelling of the marsh and run mostly along avenues of trees and ditches for overflowing floodwater. Their geometry has for centuries divided the surface of the wetland and gradually transformed it into a unique cultural landscape shaped by the fluctuation of water, changing vegetation and the colours and textures of the soil. The expansion of the city towards the southeast has transformed the landscape, so that today we can only guess at the štradons, but despite the spontaneous building, their longitudinal geometry has been preserved, which is still present in the space. The “štradon” can become a connector and the main public area of ​​a residential neighborhood. Instead of an area intended for parking and motor traffic, it can become the carrier of a public space intended for pedestrians and cyclists. The space intended for the new residential neighborhood is a flat space that allows easy accessibility, close integration into the green framework of the city, with a favourable orientation and views opening towards the Ljubljana Marshes.

The concept of the new residential area Jesihov štradon is based on six architectural and urban planning principles:
establishing a new public space in the neighborhood – a new “štradon” as the main connecting backbone between buildings; defining the edges of the neighbourhood with landscape elements that follow the existing landscape qualities; designing a new “štradon” intended exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists, thus clearly separating it from the route of motorized traffic; designing entrances to buildings from the new “štradon” and creating a sequence of green lobbies for buildings; structuring buildings with open corners optically reduces the building volume and provides most apartments with a two-sided orientation; the flexible design of apartments with an open floor plan allows for various organizations and optically increases the surface area of ​​the modest living space.