2A Condominium

The condominium is located within the wider radius of Skopje’s center, in the Bunjakovec neighborhood. As a free-standing residential building, it has a typological distribution of one unit per floor. It pays homage to its predecessor through volumetric, altimetric and planimetric reinterpretations, striking a balance within the dissonant context of the street. Modern day users’ needs are satisfied with an open plan apartment layout. Planimetrically, there is a division mid-apartment, with the private zones on the internal side of the block, whilst the social zone faces the street front.

The main challenge in this project was to compromise the limits given by the Master Plan, the needs the investor (to build maximum gross area allowed) and the real building site with its all proximity to the neighboring buildings. The characteristically floor plan is completely inversed because of this few parameters, positioning the core to the south where only limited openings are allowed. Also the walls on the back side of the building are slightly pulled away to keep the privacy in the quiet parts of the dwellings. The balconies are added to make the buffer zone more private. The living part of the dwellings is positioned towards the more open sides, where more façade openings are oriented towards clear views on the surroundings.

The load-bearing structure is made up of in-situ cast reinforced concrete elements, due to the seismic nature of the city of Skopje. Both exterior and partition walls are constructed from hollow bricks, with the outside insulated with EPS panels and plaster, whilst the inside is finished with interior plaster. Durable materials are chosen for the contact zones, creating a resilient envelope towards the street front. The ochre travertine of the ground floor visually connects to the surrounding ochre houses on the street. On the other hand, the darker vertical communication core highlights the entrance and is finished with granite ventilated façade. Almost all materials are supplied locally, lowering the ecological footprint. Particular attention is given to the creation of a more energy efficient system, utilizing a heat pump for the installed floor heating and relying on good external insulation in order to cut down on electrical energy usage for cooling during the summer.