Living with a disability includes being less mobile, more sedentary and depending on the quality and comfort of the home for its well-being.
Having a bright, welcoming home with spatial diversity and security is paramount.
Studio Name : atelier niv-o
Design team : Ivo Frei, Frantisek Dlabac
Location : Lausanne Switzerland
Consultants : ab ingénieurs, az ingénieurs
Photo credits : ©Thomas Jantscher
The project
The plot is crowned with majestic trees from the pre-existing garden.
The project takes advantage of this situation:
as opposed to deep building plan with central and blind distribution,
here, four “houses” are group together to generate
a distribution space open to the trees.
Naturally lit, this shared space is the first meeting place for the inhabitants.
The “houses” are formed by reinforced concrete slabs, supported by pillars.
These divide the area into two squares of approx. 60 m2.
The 23 apartments settle there, such as nests, with natural materials, light and dry-assembled. Bedroom and bath, arranged on the diagonal, modulate the day area: dining room and living room.
Generous floor-to-ceiling windows open the apartments to the outside and capture the natural light dimmed by the trees. Wooden framing and shelf equip the bays that become three-dimensional objects that the inhabitants can appropriate.
Entrance doors, elevator and access control are fully domotized. Individualy, the apartments are equipped with motorization (doors, windows), light controls, etc.
Materialization
The load-bearing structure in reinforced concrete balances the temperature by its great thermal inertia and stores the heat of the winter sun.
The wood used for window frames, shelves, doors, parquet floors and exterior walls generates by its texture and haptic perception the warm and welcoming atmosphere.
The lime of the interior plasters and paints illuminates the spaces with its whiteness and its permeability makes it a natural hydro-regulator.
These natural materials, used without chemical admixtures, create a healthy living environment. High-performance and fire-resistant thermal insulation, as well as triple glasses complete the range of main materials.
The inhabitants weakened by their disability deserve a high-quality living environment.
Energy and technical installations
The “passive” building benefits in winter from the sun and its thermal input, while in summer the foliage of the trees prevents direct sunlight. Interior curtains allow the individual management of natural light while “capturing” solar energy. Exposed windows to the summer sun are equipped with exterior awnings.
The electricity produced by rooftop photovoltaic installation covers 100% of the needs of the building installations, night lighting, household appliances and electric mobility.
An air-to-water heat pump provides the energy needed for heating and hot water without any carbon emissions. The “self-regulating” underfloor heating at very low temperature (maximum departure 28°) balances the temperature in the building.
Manual ventilation is supported by a basic single-flow ventilation, without ducts. It ensures the supply of oxygen and the evacuation of moisture released by the laundry.
The new building complies with the swiss target values of energy efficiency and meats de goals of the “2000 Watt society », vision for a liveable future.
