Villa Reden Receives European Property Award 2021

Villa Reden by Maciej Franta in Chorzów, Poland appears on our site again as a recipient of the EPA 2021 award.

The unique context of the location and potential negative consequences of implementing a new project in this distinctive area meant that forming the building was not straightforward and had to directly reference these recommendations, rather than compete with them, and 'respond' to the surrounding environment through its uniqueness in a modern style.

The task was even more complex due to the limited budget and high expectations of the investor. The idea and form of the building emerged directly from the irregular polygonal shape of the plot intended for development, and the concept of preserving as much wood group as possible on the site.

This simple inspiration became the main guiding principle for forming the building. Creating the form step by step, primarily: a solid body was shaped according to apartment functions, optimizing their function into the shape of an irregular polygon.

Then a perimeter line was outlined along the plot boundaries, and the residential block was surrounded by balconies to achieve panoramic views of the surroundings.

Due to sharp angles (uncommon in context), it was decided to round the corners, referencing the character of interwar villas in the area, tree canopies, and surrounding greenery.

At the next stage, to open views toward the surroundings, the block was clad with wooden terraces of various surfaces around it. The internal void in the form was introduced by implementing a terrace for lighting interior parts of apartments (bathroom and entrance zones) and the floor of the living part was raised by one level, leaving unfinished land as a space for social interaction among residents and additional external functions.

The resulting building features unique characteristics such as large terraces for enjoying the beauty of surroundings and full integration with nature thanks to proximity to trees and additional terrace lighting. At the final stage, the facade rhythm was formed.

Vertical divisions were introduced on the facade, creating expressive regular squares that organize the freely formed building volume. It was ensured that the facade division and its rhythm were equal, without anomalies in the form of projections or additional elements. Despite appearing as a single residential building, it was designed as a complex made of four separate single-story two-apartment houses.

The building is divided into four independently functioning parts, with a total of eight apartments. The first floor mainly represents open space serving as common areas for all residents and entrance zones to the buildings with technical rooms (heat exchanger, electrical connection, water meter).

Each part has an independent entrance on the first floor in the form of a staircase leading to two rooms. Each apartment has access to terraces of varying widths along the outer perimeter and to a terrace that additionally lights up entrance zones in apartments and bathrooms. The building contains 8 apartments of 76–75 square meters on two levels with a useful area of: 715.4 square meters.

-Project description and images provided by Maciej Franta