mateo.zonta

Dvořakova Social Housing

The Dvořakova Multi-Residential Building represents a contemporary interpretation of the transitional urban condition found in Maribor's Magdalena district. The project emerges as a thoughtful response to its context at the intersection between dense urban fabric and dispersed green zones, creating a hybrid typology that captures the qualities of both conditions. This duality forms the core conceptual framework - a building that is simultaneously an urban condenser along the street edge and a porous, nature-embracing structure on its courtyard side.

The architectural expression manifests through two distinct yet interconnected volumes: a slender residential lamella stretching along Dvořakova Street and a polygonal corner element that rises to create a subtle urban landmark. This formal strategy respects the existing urban morphology while complementing it through a contemporary interpretation that balances density with openness, urbanity with nature.

The project challenges conventional housing typologies by creating a building that occupies half of the site, allowing the remaining half to develop as parkland and communal green spaces. This spatial allocation supports the project's underlying social ambition to encourage community among young residents while providing quality individual living environments.

typical floorplan

highest floor

The apartment layouts are clear and flexible, organized around central service cores that separate entrance, sleeping, and living areas while allowing for circular movement through the space. This fluidity enables young residents from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds to adapt living spaces to their needs.

cores and entrances

appartments

roof penthauses and public groundfloor

The material language of the building creates a dialogue between its urban and natural faces. The street-facing elevations feature a brick grid with loggias and French balconies, while the courtyard side opens up with a thin balcony structure that intertwines with vegetation. This duality is not only aesthetic but functional as well - optimizing solar orientation, cross-ventilation, and views for all apartments.

The construction introduces sustainable techniques by recycling materials from demolished structures on site, processing waste concrete and brick into belite-sulfoaluminate cement for the new structure. This approach is complemented by a hybrid construction system that combines reinforced concrete internal walls with cross-laminated timber (CLT) exterior walls and composite floor slabs.

street facade

courtyard facade

construction system

The project creates a gradient of shared spaces that encourage social interaction. The ground floor corner serves as an urban activator with public functions (café, coworking space, repair shop, mobility center), while rooftop terraces offer residents spaces for permaculture, recreation, socializing and meditation with views toward the city center, surrounding hill, and Pohorje mountains.

This vertical distribution of communal spaces creates multiple opportunities for chance encounters and community formation, fundamental to supporting the needs of young individuals and families in transition.

The building incorporates comprehensive sustainability strategies including green roofs, rainwater management systems, and the reuse of "gray water". The three underground levels provide parking spaces for cars and bicycles.

Year: 2022
Type: Public competition
Program: Residential
Location: Maribor, Slovenia

Third prize in a competition for a residential building in Maribor, Slovenia.
Authors: Primož Žitnik, Uroš Rustja, Darja Josić, Mateo Zonta, Urška Linda Bauermann, Tomaž Mlinarič, Mina Hiršman
Contributors: Rok Dolinšek, Jernej Krmelj