Innovation meets Slovenian tradition

In Slovenia, the term family home normally evokes a very specific image. Gregorc/vrhovec arhitekti very intentionally broke with this preconception with their HOUSE CELOVŠKA 01, creating a 7 metre tall, 40 metre long and 4 metre wide house that exists nowhere else in this form.

House Celovška Slovenia — © Wienerberger d.o.o./ Architects: Gregorc/vrhovec arhitekti, Photographer: Damjan Švarc

Single family home

House Celovška 01 is situated not far from the Slovenian capital Ljubljana next to a main road. Large, colourful advertisements line the busy road, while the natural backdrop is formed by unspoilt forest. These aspects were the basis for choosing the colours of the house – black – which interacts directly with the background and tells different stories depending on the time of day and how the light falls. The black cladding changes from a silvery white in bright sunlight to a deep black at night.

The floor plan shaped by historical circumstances

One problem confronted by the designers was the narrowness of the site, to which the house had to be adapted. With room widths ranging from 3 to 3.5 metres, it was a challenge to create practical living spaces. The reason for unusual form of the site lies in the history of the city. Many years ago, such plots were used for agriculture. Although this plot form made sense for agricultural use, it posed a significant challenge for the design of a family home

Making the most of it

These conditions prompted various innovations with regard to the façade, the building design and the room planning. The architects worked on the assumption that even small houses can and should offer the same level of comfort as large houses with gardens. For this reason, they dispensed with superfluous rooms. Two apartments are shaped around each other without hallways, occupying the entire floor space of the building.

Innovation meets history

The innovative construction style encounters Slovenian tradition in the façade, which has been clad in local Bobrovec roofing tiles that have biomorphic properties. This material also provides additional acoustic insulation to keep the noise from the busy road out of the living spaces.