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"UNITY - zero energy, prefab, habitat"
Adaptability is essential for survival — this is a fundamental law of nature. Change is the only constant.
Architecture is no exception. But how can we adapt our construction practices to be in harmony with nature, without compromising on comfort?
This is the central question that Project UNITY seeks to explore. The project experiments with both form and materials in designing a living unit that is shaped mathematically by the environmental factors of its context. Through this approach, UNITY aims to create spaces that are not only functional and comfortable, but also deeply connected to their natural surroundings.
The project site is located close to the city center of Helsinki - in the university district - Viiki - northern from the nature reserve known as “bird paradise in the center of the city”. The site analysis of the place observes a lack of connectivity in the context. The goal of the project concept is the UNITY of the surroundings.
The composition strategy follows the continuations of the existing buildings, creating a distinctive volume that embraces the whole space.
The street, crossing the green space is converted into pedestrian street with restricted vehicle access, which unifies the space making it more pleasant for a rest and able to play the role of a transition between city and nature.
The new building is at the northern part of the complex. Its south façade is open, facing the nature reserve. The north façade is glazed, forms a big public space in front of it and connects to the existing building of GARDENIA by using the same exterior materials.
The new building consists of 5 residential floors and a commercial ground floor, that is connected to an underground parking. The residential part has three types of apartments: with 3, with 2 bedrooms and single space studios.
The shape and the inclination of the building are a design result of the sun path in Helsinki. Every apartment has an optimal daylight during the whole year. And even more: own terrace, own garden and a south view towards the nature park. The common spaces look to the city and the square in front of the building.
One of the sustainable strategies of the new building is the zoning of heated and unheated spaces. The heated volume is smaller and the unheated one serves as an additional insulation space. The floor slab, made of CLT panels and the installation detail of the windows prevent thermal bridges.
The south façade has building integrated photovoltaics that contribute for the architectural presence and combined with the sustainable ventilation and geothermal heat pump make the building ZERO ENERGY.
The construction of the building is made of prefab GLULAM elements forming fixed connection between each other, which enhances the structure efficiency and has a lot of advantages such as precision, speed building process and lower cost.
Initial sketches:
The whole project:
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