4 Houses for 4 Brothers

The project deals with almost archetypal typology in this area, consisting of the owner's living space, most often on the ground floor, and several apartments for rent upstairs. Same typology has persistently destroyed the Croatian coast for decades. It is placed in the heart of the suburb which was created by the spontaneous chaotic multiplication of the same typology. Each structure is a spatial and program composition of a small family house and a clip of a megahotel. It's distinctly divided into two contrasting volumes: residential and touristic. The latter is generically anonymous, uses the form elements of the tourist typology, and at the same time is set to form the base but also the hinterland of another volume, the white housing unit.

In this project the same programme elements are stacked one upon another, resembling the Dutch approach to sectionbased zoning: compact double oriented apartments are located in the base and the rear volume; the superstructure holds a family house of the owner, while the heart of the project is the communal space in the lofty gap between these two different dwelling domains – pemanent and family vs. temporary and touristic. This piano nobile space is the space of contemporary leisure, suitable for both guests and owners – self sufficient covered deck with kitchen, a terrace and a pool. The accent of the project is put on the new type of community where the lives of the hosts and the tourists literally overlap. A family house cluster floats above it all and it is made of cubic volumes with pitched roofs corresponding to specific rooms. The building ends with covered roof terraces in order to provide its hosts with intimacy and a privileged view. Neither hosts nor guests need to leave these buildings for a total experience of the contemporary Adriatic. The hosts must tolerate the guests, they do not have to socialize but are encouraged to do so.

The distinctly contrast between the two volumes in each of the houses is also reflected in their structure. Therefore, the part of the building which houses the tourist apartments is designed as a system of load bearing walls and slabs of reinforced concrete; while the private house is made up of a skeleton of pillars and beams, also of reinforced concrete. A light metal structure partially covers the flat roof. Both units, residential and touristic, have shutter elements on the facade. While the ones of the white housing remain flat when closed, the shades in the base and rear unit are in the shape of an accordion.