Solar house

Brief description of the project: The present development is a conceptual architectural project for a single-family residential building with wooden construction drywall systems. The project participates in a competition organized by Knauf Bulgaria and the Union of Manufacturers of Prefabricated Houses.

Master plan: The building is located freely in the terrain proposed by the organizers. The regulated property is a corner located on a T-shaped junction. The two intersecting streets tangle with the borders

of the property from the northeast and southeast. The terrain, which has an area of about 1 decare and a shape close to a rectangle measuring 26/37 m, is sloping northeast (towards one of the streets). The house is equipped with two approaches - cars and pedestrians. In the courtyard there is a ground to place a tent or a gazebo with garden furniture. Due to the direct connection of this zone with the dining area, it can be used for outdoor dining when

weather conditions allow this. The yard is richly planted mainly with low and medium tall vegetation, and along the periphery and especially along the streets are also planned trees that will provide the necessary intimacy and will serve as an acoustic and air-purifying filter.

Functional layout: The building is divided into four functional levels - one underground and three overground ones. The basement mainly performs warehouse, economic and technical functions, on the ground level is located the living room group, the second floor is dedicated to the individual spaces of

the family, while the attic level serves as a place for guests and research activities of the children. There is also a usable roof terrace that will be used primarily for astrological observations.

Construction: The overground part of the building is designed with light, wooden construction and drywall systems, and the foundations, the basement walls and the inter-floor slab at elevation ± 0.00 (the entire basement) are made of monolithic reinforced concrete. At a request of the investors and possible recommendations of a structural engineer

it is possible that the central element, which encompasses the staircase, the corridors, the kitchen and the bathrooms, performs the role of an anti-earthquake reinforced concrete core. The outer walls of the house are about 30 cm thick. The floor slabs also have a total thickness of about 30 cm. Because of the fact that several flat roofs and usable roof terraces are present in the building, special attention is paid to the waterproofing (rolled bituminous materials), which is applied to the wooden supporting structure. Draining of these parts is standard,

internal and is realized thanks to roof drains and hidden drainage pipes.

Architectural appearance: In the aspect of the space the building is divided into several volumes, which are distinguished and emphasized by the use of different façade materials. Thus, they form a harmonious, semi-symmetrical composition of geometrical bodies that are in contact with each other. The suggestion that is achieved is of a modern single-family house with elements and materials borrowed from the traditional Bulgarian architecture.

The main volumes represent four quadrangular prisms, ending with a single slope roof and a traditional edge. All of them are treated with white, sprayed, mineral plaster. As a counterpoint to these white volumes, the wood incorporates itself into them. The pergolas, columns, farms and railings serve as its extensions and spatial growths. In general, the wood also forms the central element of the main façade from the northeast. The horizontal screen grid serves both for visual and aesthetic reunion of both volumes and for creating a welcoming entry space.