OFIS architects: baroque court apartments

‘baroque court apartments’ by OFIS architects, ljubljana, slovenia images © tomaz gregoric & jan celeda all images courtesy of OFIS architects

slovenian practice OFIS architects has recently completed ‘baroque court apartments’, a residential block in the historic city center of ljubljana, slovenia. positioned opposing the robba fountain and within the vicinity of plecnik’s bridges, this renovation of three adjacent homes transforms an originally contained internal courtyard into an open-air contemporary glass light well. the street elevations have been maintained in accordance with heritage rules while the inward-facing transparent enclosure has been revitalized to create opportunities for communication between apartments at different levels.

video © OFIS architects, produced by carniolus

aerial view

twelve units are arranged around the central void which overlooks a ground level garden. the surface’s reflective finish increases illumination levels within the narrow chasm, introducing daylight into the open floor plans which maximize natural light sources. placed inside the curtain wall, the historical stone arches, pillars and slabs which were discovered during construction become interior elements, and similarly reflect through the glass. ventilation from the court circulates through the dwellings while the roof top residences receive cooling breezes eliminating the need for additional air conditioning.

(left) entry (right) street elevation

(left) stair at ground level (right) stairs

(left) stairs (right) apartment interior

bathroom

sub-grade corridor

upward view through internal courtyard

(left) aerial view of internal void (right) roof terrace

rooftop apartments

rooftop apartments

ground level of courtyard

roof terrace

corridor wrapping courtyard

courtyard at night

original structure

model

model

model

context plan

site plan

floor plan / level 0 2. entrance 3. store room

floor plan / level 1 2. entrance 4. living room 5. bedroom 6. bathroom 7. kitchen 8. toilet 9. wardrobe 10. studio 11. utility

floor plan / level 2 2. entrance 4. living room 5. bedroom 6. bathroom 7. kitchen 8. toilet 9. wardrobe 10. studio 11. utility

floor plan / level 3 4. living room 5. bedroom 6. bathroom 7. kitchen 8. toilet 9. wardrobe 10. studio

floor plan / level 4 5. bedroom 6. bathroom 7. kitchen 9. wardrobe

floor plan / level -1 1. basement

section

section

section

section

programmatic diagram

project info:

location: ljubljana historical city centre
 type: residential apartments client: dzs d.d
 site area: 692 m2
 bldg. area: 692 m2
 gross floor area: 2.420 m2
 coverage ratio: 0,38
 gross floor ratio: 3,50
 structure: reinforced concrete and steel max. height: 18.32 m inner space: 2.178 m2project team:
 ofis arhitekti d.o.o.
 rok oman
, spela videcnik, 
andrej gregoric, 
janez martincic
, janja del linz, 
laura carroll, 
erin durno
, leonor coutinho, 
maria trnovska, 
jolien maes
, sergio silva santos
, grzegorz ostrowski
, javier carrera
, magdalena lacka
, estefania lopez tornay
, nika zufic structural engineering: elea ic d.o.o.
 mechanical engineering:
 isp d.o.o.
 electrical engineering: 
eurolux d.o.o.

 photo: 
tomaz gregoric, jan celeda