What should contemporary housing be like? Another solution may be to use a single-stair layout, that is, to design such buildings in which one staircase provides access to all spaces in the building. {tag:studenci} created the "Green Twins" project, which was short-listed for the Denver Single-Stair Housing Design Competition organized by Buildner.
The Denver Single-Stair Housing Challenge is the 18th edition of the Affordable Housing competition, where the task was to create a design for a multi-family building with a single staircase serving all units.
Green Twins - visualization
proj.: Michal Waclaw Pietrusiewicz
Single-stair building - a solution for modern cities?
The placement of a single staircase is a deliberate measure to create smaller, narrower buildings that fit into small spaces in dense urban areas. Their use is also intended to promote social life and help create a sustainable city. This type of housing is almost absent in North America due to strict building codes.
A requirement for entering the competition was that the project be located anywhere in Denver, a city in Colorado, with a maximum area of about 600 square meters (6,000 square feet). The competition was judged on originality, performance potential and the prospect of improving housing conditions.
The goal of this competition is to explore and highlight the limitations of outdated building codes and push for change. By showcasing innovative designs, the competition aims to influence policy changes that will allow for more diverse, affordable and sustainable housing solutions in Colorado and beyond
- explain the organizers.
Green Twins - visualizations and cross-sections
proj.: Michal Waclaw Pietrusiewicz
green twins a place to build neighborhood ties
The project by Michal Pietrusiewicz depicts two twin buildings connected by an open staircase. Created in the spirit of the "slow" philosophy, it creates space for the emergence of a local community, thanks to shared green terraces and a "neighborhood meeting hub" on the first floor. A laundry room and storage spaces, responding to residents' daily needs, were also located there.
To minimize the building's carbon footprint, the designer used renewable materials such as recycled wood and bricks, which he placed on the facade. The green terraces are intended not only to provide thermal insulation for the building, but also to improve the air quality in the area, in addition to promoting the reduction of the urban heat island effect. On the roofs of the buildings, the author planned to install solar panels and a rainwater collection system.
Green Twins - projection, visualization, structural model
designer: Michal Waclaw Pietrusiewicz
Circularity, recycling and CLT
The author used CLT ( cross-laminated timber) technology to create the building's main structural system, complemented by walls made using traditional timber frame technology. He finished the building's interior with treated, green-painted plywood. The facades, meanwhile, are covered mainly with recycled bricks and fired ceramic tiles.
Thecircularity of the "Green Twins" project is also lent by the modular layout of the apartments, which ensures that the building can be adapted to future needs and allows for potential conversions to other functions.
Green Twins - floor plan
proj.: Michal Waclaw Pietrusiewicz
The use of green technologies and the creation of comfortable spaces, overflowing with vegetation and open to the community, was intended to positively affect the mental condition and physical health of potential residents. Ultimately, the "Green Twins" project is green not only in the visual sense, but also in the metaphorical sense - it reduces the negative impact of construction on the environment.
