RESIDENTIAL BUILDING DÚBRAVKA

Idea projektu

The core concept of this design was to create community-based housing that fosters a healthy neighborhood and strengthens relationships among residents of apartment buildings.
This can be achieved through a shared open horizontal circulation space — a gallery — which, when glazed, is fully sunlit and visually connected to the exterior. This eliminates the common issue of dark and unwelcoming interior corridors in apartment buildings.
The gallery also serves as a social space for casual encounters or a pleasant spot to enjoy coffee with neighbors while overlooking the surroundings.
Emphasis is also placed on preserving as much greenery as possible around the residential building, creating outdoor leisure areas and terraces, while maintaining a semi-public zone that supports both privacy and community interaction.

Popis projektu

The residential building is located on Saratovská Street in Bratislava, in the Dúbravka district. However, the main access to the site is provided from Pod Záhradami Street. The building is strategically positioned to take full advantage of southern and western orientation, while simultaneously creating a buffer from the traffic on Saratovská Street and defining a more intimate inner courtyard. The main entrance to the residential building itself is oriented to the north. The bulding mass forms an L-shape in plan, conceptually composed of two distinct volumes connected by both horizontal and vertical circulation in the form of a gallery. The building thus follows the typology of a gallery-type residential building.
The two volumes differ in height—one rises to five floors, the other to six. The gallery is predominantly situated along the northern facade but also extends transversely through the building. The gallery facade is glazed, enclosing a shared circulation space that includes two elevators. These elevators, with their massive structural form, visually dominate and define the building along its sides. Two staircases are also integrated into this zone, emphasized by a series of red columns that articulate their position and contribute to the architectural expression of the building.

The ground floor of the residential building is slightly recessed and fully glazed, accommodating rental spaces intended for future amenities such as a café, office units, or small community areas that will support the social life of the building’s residents.
In the underground level, there is a parking garage accessed via a ramp from the south, connected to the adjacent parking area on Pod Záhradami Street. The garage includes 24 parking spaces, two of which are designated for people with disabilities. It also contains tenant storage units, a building services room (MEP room), and is connected to the gallery by vertical circulation cores.
The residential building includes two typical floors, while the upper levels feature apartments with varied layouts. From the fourth floor upwards, maisonette units are introduced. Each apartment includes at least one private exterior space in the form of a loggia. However, the gallery itself plays a central role in shaping the building’s spatial and social identity. It is conceived not only as a circulation corridor but also as a semi-communal space that fosters everyday interactions among residents, even in inclement weather. Small seating areas are integrated along the gallery, allowing residents to pause, converse with neighbors in front of the doors of their own apartments, or simply observe the surroundings through the glazed facade.

The exterior of the building features a semi-public courtyard defined by low greenery. It consists of a mix of paved and planted surfaces, terraces with seating, and dedicated zones for children’s play. Mature trees provide shading during the warmer months, enhancing the comfort and usability of the outdoor space.

Technické informace

The building is founded on a 500 mm thick reinforced concrete foundation slab, extending to a depth of approximately 3.5 meters. The underground garage is designed with a reinforced concrete frame system composed of circular columns with a diameter of 350 mm. This structural frame continues through the ground floor and transitions into a load-bearing wall system from the second floor upward. The external walls of the residential part are made of 350 mm thick reinforced concrete, complemented by 150 mm of external thermal insulation. Interior load-bearing walls are 200 mm thick, while non-load-bearing partitions are 100 mm thick. All floor slabs are constructed from reinforced concrete. On the ground floor, the slab is 300 mm thick with an additional 600 mm suspended ceiling zone to accommodate mechanical and electrical systems. Floor slabs on the other levels are also 300 mm thick. Floor build-ups are generally 150 mm thick, except on the first floor, where the floor structure is 200 mm thick. The building is topped with a flat roof featuring an intensive green roof system.