The new apartments are located in the very center of the Slovenian capital, just a stone's throw from the City Hall, the Robb Fountain, and the three famous fanning bridges over Ljubljanica, designed by Jože Plečnik.
A complex polygonal courtyard formed by three Baroque houses was designated as a building site. All of them belong to the publishing house, on the ground floor of one of them there is a bookstore, above there are offices, the courtyard itself was partially blocked off and was used purely utilitarian - air conditioning systems of all three buildings were located here, which, in accordance with the protection legislation of Slovenia, cannot be placed on street facades of ancient buildings. That is why OFIS arhitekti was faced with two tasks at once: firstly, to figure out how to place the split systems more compactly (as a result, they refused from artificial air conditioning altogether), and secondly, to connect the buildings themselves, designing on partially extended »Areas of 12 apartments.
Without affecting the main facades facing the streets, the architects could partially rebuild the courtyard facades and delicately used this opportunity. In fact, the courtyard from the inside, along its entire height, acquires a new "layer" - these are corridors-galleries connecting three buildings.
The architects make their outer walls entirely of glass - this solution allows filling the apartments with a sufficient amount of daylight and at the same time making individual structures and decorative elements of Baroque architecture part of the courtyard. The arches revealed during the reconstruction look especially impressive in the dark when they are illuminated with LEDs. And that is why the architects decided the space of the courtyard itself as a space accessible only to residents: a small cozy garden is laid out here. Although the area of the latter is quite small, the glass walls visually enlarge this space, filling it with reflections of nearby buildings and clouds.
In addition, the nearly mirrored courtyard facades reflect sunlight into the interior of the building. Natural ventilation is achieved by through-ventilation of all apartments, while all new windows are triple-glazed to provide thermal insulation. The residential complex is connected to central heating.
The interior decoration of the apartments is dominated by white color and natural wood elements. The upper terrace, the floor of which is also sheathed with wooden planks, is protected by high glass sides and serves as a viewing platform for the inhabitants of the upper, attic floor.
A. M.
