We did everything we could to ensure that the development deeper within the plot would not become a typical “strip” layout. The Seven Houses project became an opportunity for us to find a compromise between the repetition of buildings and the desire to introduce architectural diversity. In accordance with the local zoning plan, we managed to designate a road plot with a slight bend, which opened the door to introducing disruptions within the urban layout.
We wanted to create an urban interior that would support a sense of community. The offsets in the building forms, the closed-off axes, and the varied shaping of the structures—while maintaining a degree of repetition—were meant to make this shared “interior” inviting to spend time in. This part of the estate is open. Seven houses were built along the access road, which became an integrating communal space.
The character of the development refers to its surroundings, and the choice of subdued colours was intentional so as not to “shout” in the landscape. This is a developer project that must fit within strict financial constraints, so our selection of finishing materials was limited.
We also searched for a human scale for the buildings. To achieve this, we designed the roofs in such a way as to lower the height of the eaves on the street side. This, however, comes with consequences for the interiors. A low-sloping roof means less usable floor area. The solution lies in cubic bay projections, usually spanning the full width of the room. It is a compromise between the roof geometry and the desire to maximise usable space on each floor. Full interior height was placed only where it was most needed, reducing the overall building volume.
The Seven Houses ensemble is visible only from a few streets, and its presence often disappears among the surrounding buildings—which we consider a positive feature of context-sensitive architecture. An important idea behind the project was the densification of development in areas with full infrastructure, helping to prevent cities from spreading into undeveloped land. Our aim was also to incorporate water retention on the plot, and the layout of access roads with curved endings results from an analysis of vehicle movement and a desire to minimise paved surfaces.
