Residential Building, Praha 5, Smíchov

The apartment building complements the existing block development in Prague's Smíchov district, where very intensive housing construction is currently taking place. The design, located on a corner plot at the junction of Nádražní and U Železničního mostu streets, copies the perimeter of the plot towards the street and respects the height of the existing block while at the same time bringing new life to it. Given the industrial heritage of the Smíchov district, the main materials are exposed concrete in combination with brick - more specifically, brick strips imitating solid brick. Towards Nádražní Street, the regular grid of windows continues the facades of the existing houses in the block and creates a sense of continuity. The turning point occurs at the very corner of the plot, when the regularity is broken by a large glass window of a duplex apartment, which, together with the terraces and the stepped floor, gives the previously static house dynamics and thus becomes an exposed point of the entire block when viewed from the other direction. The mass of the building on the 5th floor slopes away from the street, creating an outdoor terrace divided between the units for the apartments on this floor. For apartments larger than 1 KK, small balconies are designed on the northern and western facades, which offer residents the opportunity to escape from the exterior to fresh air and at the same time watch the events in the quiet courtyard, which is isolated from the busy street by the mass of the building itself. The house is crossed by two passages leading to this courtyard, where the entrances to the four apartment blocks are located. This entire space is planted with greenery and by passing through one of the passages, a person suddenly finds himself in an oasis of peace from the busy street, where he can calmly stop, take a breath and fall into the safe arms of his apartment.