2Gather - Net Zero student housing in Brno

FAST VUT - Faculty of Civil Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Department of Architecture

Project idea

The topic of the project is the design of carbon-neutral housing in Brno. A typology of student apartments of a higher standard was selected for the design. The new building is a part of the new residential complex. The proposed building has six above-ground floors and one underground, which connects to a two-floor underground parking lot under the atrium. The building is on a corner and the layout is based on a convenient location on the square in direct connection with a large public space and a tram stop. There is a large coworking space for students on the glassed-in ground floor with access to the game room in the basement. On the upper floors, maisonette apartments are located, accessible for energy savings after the dormitories. The construction combines a reinforced concrete skeleton in -1st floor and ground floor and a wall system made of CLT panels from1st floor up to the 5th floor.
The design works with the idea of ​​openness and interconnectedness of individual spaces
and creating favorable conditions for getting to know each other, spending time together and joint activities in one place. At every scale, from an entire block with an adjacent public space to an apartment itself accessible from a wide pavilion, everything is designed in such a way that there is always a place for an event of any scale, whether it is a concert in the square or playing table games over coffee.

Project description

1. DEFINITION AND PURPOSE OF BUILDING
The proposed building is part of a residential complex in Brno in the Západná Brána location.
The name of the student housing project 2Gather is derived from the meaning of the English words "to gather" and "together". The proposal creates favorable conditions for young people so that they can study together, spend free time, share housing, use coworking spaces or relax outside in the adjacent courtyard. This approach is adapted to the architectural expression and material solution, the typology of the apartment layout of the residential part and the philosophy of a gentle approach to the construction and use of buildings, the so-called NetZero.

2. URBAN SOLUTION
The proposed building is located in Brno in the West Gate locality, which is located on the border of the cadastral territory of Starý Lískovec and Bohunice near Jihlavská Street. The area defined by the Spatial Plan of the City of Brno is intended for mixed functions and high intensity of land use and is also intended for high-rise buildings. The advantage of the location is the excellent transport service. There is a tram stop in the immediate vicinity of the proposed building, and a public transport terminal (tram, trolleybus, bus) is within walking distance on Netroufalky Street. Car traffic uses a direct connection to the D1 highway, the first-class Jihlavská road and the road network and the railway station in Staré Lískovec. In the wider area, the backbone cycle paths are run on the one hand to the south along the Leskavy river, on the other hand to the north along the Svratka. The western gate is connected to these routes as well as to the cycle path along the northern side of Jihlavská street.
The undeveloped area of ​​the West Gate is in the immediate vicinity of the two largest employers in Brno and the South Moravian Region, i.e. the Masaryk University campus and the Bohunice University Hospital. Both institutions are also associated with a high movement of other people (students, patients, operators and users of related services, etc.)

The addressed part of the Western Gate site, with an area of ​​approximately 5ha, has an approximately square plan and is situated on a slightly sloping terrain with a slope from north to south. Along the eastern border is a newly built stop of the underground tram route with a linear public space, along the northern side is the busy Jihlavská street. The southern border follows the panel development of the Starý Lískovec housing estate, and the western border is defined by the highway feeder with areas of underground technical infrastructure.
The proposal envisages three closed blocks in the shape of polygons leading to a common public space, which has the character of a small triangular square. View axes also point to the center of the square in the direction of the high-rise building of the faculty hospital, the senior citizens' home at K Penzionu street and the future new development with a dominant view towards Bosonohá.
Enclosed blocks enable efficient use of the area, greater privacy for residents, protection against noise, etc. Most of the public space in the planned area is designed as a pedestrian zone, the areas around the tram stop will also be used to a greater extent by residents of the wider area.
The spatial arrangement of the residential complex works in places where the limitation of flight corridors allows it, with two height dominants; in the western part near Jihlavská Street and the southern part near U Penzionu Street. High-rise buildings are designed as twenty to twenty-two storey buildings with a height of up to 70 meters, the height level of the other blocks is approximately six to eight floors. More than half of the floor plan of each block has underground floors, which are intended for parking.
In terms of functional use, residential functions prevail. The block in the southwest corner is residential with a ground floor intended for a kindergarten, services and housing associated with work and live opportunities. The block along the public space with the tram stop in the southern part near U Penzionu street, including the high-rise building, is intended for housing with an active ground floor (work and live, services), the remaining part for student housing and a hotel. The block at Jihlavská street, which also includes the construction of the diploma project, towards the busy Jihlavská street, is intended for office/administrative operations, including a substantial part of the corner high-rise building. The highest floors of the building with panoramic views are intended for large-scale penthouse apartments. The southern part of the block oriented towards the small local square is intended for student housing. The largest public space in the West Gate location with a tram stop has a multifunctional use. In addition to the park (where there is no underground tram body) for trees and blue-green infrastructure.

NETZERO CONCEPT AND URBAN SOLUTION.
The principles of NetZero in urban design are aimed at the so-called "fifteen-minute/five-minute city". In this concept, there is an effort to bring all the daily needs of residents (housing, catering, employment opportunities, education, services, relaxation and recreation, etc.) within a walking distance of 15/5 minutes, which in terms of the carbon footprint brings the greatest savings in the operation of the city. In the locality, the individual is left behind car traffic in favor, pedestrian and bicycle traffic and the use of comfortable public transport (tram stop). The main elements of the Net Zero concept are, in particular, the achieved intensity of land development, the floor plan footprint of the blocks designed as favorably as possible with regard to the orientation of the building towards the cardinal points (the most advantageous is the E-W orientation) and a suitable microclimate thanks to the proportion of green areas with trees and the use of rainwater through blue-green infrastructure (spaces that can be rooted for green planting strips). Thanks to the concept of the proposal and the broader territorial context mentioned above, this concept is fulfilled.

3. ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION
The architectural design is based on the spatial arrangement and material solution, which is based on the chosen typology for student housing and the principles of NetZero. The six-story student housing building is part of the city block. The block is walk-through on the ground floor and, at the same time, the layout of the inner block is sufficiently defined for residents and users with the use of a water element and a terrace. The inner block atrium is connected by paths and a rest area. The ground floor and part of the underground floor of the treated section are used for coworking activities and relaxation. The underground is also intended for bicycle and car parking and technology rooms are located here. Accumulation tanks for rainwater are located underground under the garages, which will mainly serve the needs of the inner block (water area, watering of vegetation, gray water for flushing, etc.). The foundation structures will be used for collecting energy - heat/cold, and part of the atrium in the inner block will serve as energy storage.
The residential part uses an outdoor staircase and "pavlač" - the outdoor corridor instead of inside corridors for access to two-story apartments on the 2nd to 5th floors and one-story apartments on the last floor. Pavlač also serves as a meeting place; they allow visitors to look into the social parts of the apartments, to share free and working time, while the bedroom parts have privacy. From the pavilion it is possible to observe life in the atrium.
While the two-story apartments are designed for more users (up to 8 students per apartment unit), the apartments on the top floor are for 1-2 residents and have a higher utility standard.

NETZERO CONCEPT AND ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION.
The "low-carbon" construction concept in the case of the object being addressed is based on efficient/intensive use of the area, which allows for example a smaller area of ​​the inner block, optimization of common heated spaces - a lounge instead of a corridor, open domestic stairs, etc. From the point of view of the material solution, it is used as the main structural material wood (CLT) and low-carbon concrete. Concrete floors in common areas are designed as a material with thermal mass. The proposal also limits materials that have a high proportion of carbon production. Equivalents of materials with a reduced carbon footprint are beginning to be available in the Czech Republic, e.g. low-carbon glass from SAIT GOBAIN type ORAE; imports of materials and raw materials from long distances have the opposite effect.

4. DISPOSAL SOLUTIONS
The student housing facility has a ground floor designed for coworking, including operations related to this concept of a shared work and study environment. Part of the workplaces is located in the so-called greenhouse, which is in front of the level of the north-facing facade (NW, NW) of the facade and also provides ceiling lighting. The rest and relaxation zone is located in the underground part of the building so that it does not interfere with work activities on the ground floor. The remaining part of the underground is intended for technical rooms, a wheelhouse and access to an escape staircase with a lift and access to underground garages in the neighboring section of the block. Access stairs lead from the courtyard part of the ground floor to two dormitories (on the 1st and 3rd above-ground floors), from which maisonette apartments for up to 8 students can be accessed. On the entrance floor, the apartments have a social area with a kitchen and dining area, access to an outdoor loggia and separate single rooms and a separate bathroom. There is access to the upper floor of the apartment from the open staircase to the gallery and further to the bedrooms and social facilities. This solution optically and operationally connects both floors of the apartment and, like outdoor pavilions and coworking workplaces, is an excellent means of social contacts between students. On the last 6th floor, there are one-story apartments for 1 to 2 people accessible from the terrace.
The roof of the building is intended for technologies (PV, solar panels, etc.) and extensive vegetation areas. The atrium in the inner block is especially intended for the outdoor stay of students and users of the building.

Technical information

5. STRUCTURAL AND MATERIAL SOLUTIONS
MATERIALS:
The building is designed from wooden material, the underground floor and parterre are from low-carbon concrete/reinforced concrete (VERTUA/CEMEX). The use of wooden load-bearing structures and wood in the construction industry is currently limited in the Czech Republic by current legislation, which does not allow the construction of buildings higher than 12 meters fire height (i.e. approx. 3-4 floors). The newly prepared legislation, expected to take effect from mid-2025, should push this limit up to 22.5 m, i.e. to approx. 7 floors; the planning of wooden buildings is already possible today, based on an exception. For example, in Switzerland, houses with double the number of floors (up to 15) can be built, in neighboring Austria, a 113-meter wooden skyscraper is being prepared in Vienna.
In terms of materials and carbon balance during the life cycle of the building, the project includes passive standards, large windows for maximum daylight, shading of the southern (SE, SW) facades, the use of rainwater (accumulation tanks under the underground floors), the use of photovoltaics and solar panels ( on the roof and in high-rise buildings as well as on the facade), or heat pumps (ground - air) and by storing energy on the land (especially in foundation structures - energy piles, energy walls, energy foundations
and to storage areas from the non-basement part of the inner block). From the point of view of the building's own operation, a high proportion of LED technologies and energy-saving devices are designed
and appliances.

CONSTRUCTION:
The structural system is designed as a combined one. The underground floor is a reinforced concrete white bathtub combined with a reinforced concrete skeleton, which is also used in the 1st above-ground floor. The ceiling structure above the underground floor is reinforced concrete. The ground floor ceiling consists of reinforced concrete beams and wooden CLT ceiling panels. The load-bearing structures from the level of the 1st above-ground floor are wooden. Columns and beams are made of solid wood (glued elements), footings, load-bearing and infill (e.g. facade) wall panels are of the CLT type. The roof structure is designed with the composition of an extensive roof and placed photovoltaic panels. The extensive green roof on the one hand weighs down the coating roof insulation (without placing great demands on the load-bearing capacity of the roof structure), accumulates part of the rainfall and maintains the microclimate on the roof, thereby among other things, it increases the efficiency of photovoltaics.
The thermally exposed facades (facing the public space) are shielded by overhanging loggias and horizontal window sill elements, the windows on the last stepped floor are equipped with outdoor blinds. All opening fillings are fitted with internal blind systems. In the cross-section of the building, it can be seen that the natural air circulation created by the different height of the windows and the way they are opened is used to advantage.

6. ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE DESIGN
NETZERO IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC:
Designing buildings in the NetZero concept, taking into account the absence of rules and methodologies, uses shared information from neighboring countries and the results of pilot projects. NetZero is
on the overall approach to the construction and operation of public space and buildings with an emphasis on environmental sustainability with a "zooming" on the carbon footprint. It uses the definition of the life cycle of the building and works with different degrees of future recyclability of the materials used.
NETZERO IN THE PROJECT:
In terms of materials and carbon balance during the life cycle of the building, the project includes passive standards, large windows for maximum daylight (saving energy for lighting), shading of the southern and western facades, support for natural air flow, use of rainwater (accumulation tanks under the underground floors ), using photovoltaics (on the roof and in high-rise buildings as well as on the facade), solar panels, heat pumps (ground - air) and storing energy on the land (mainly in foundation structures - energy piles, energy walls, energy foundations, underground energy storage).

7. BASIC DIMENSIONS
Area of ​​the solved section of the block: 562m2
Area of ​​the atrium in the inner block: 2,150 m2
Number of floors: 6 above ground + 1 underground
Building height: 21.0 m
Structural height of the ground floor: 4.0 m
Structural height of the standard floor: 3.0 m
Structural height underground: 3.6 m
Built-up volume of ​​the above-ground part: 8,992 m3
Built-up volume of ​​the underground part: 2,248 m3
Total built-up space: 11,240 m3
Number of housing units: 16
Number of people: 61
Net floor area for rent
areas on the ground floor and 1st basement: 661m2

Total useful area: 3018 m2

Documentation

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