Residential Building ELIPSE

It was a direct commission by a Montenegro developer who was building for the first time in Europe. We were hired after interviewing with the client, showing references, etc., and being selected among three or four other candidates.

The design of the Elipse building responds to the specificities of the site, both in the immediate and larger context, as well as to urban requirements from the master plan for the area. Its uniqueness lies in its form — an ellipse in plan, articulated with loggias on the northern side and large cantilevered balconies on the southern side.

The building is mint green and wrapped in a textile-like interweaving of ceramic tile cladding. This textile interweaving refers to Gottfried Semper’s Bekleidung — a wrap, a cladding of a very simple elliptical volume. This design also references its position on the inner city ring, which was originally designed by Slovene-Viennese architect Maks Fabiani before World War I.

The site is situated between a river canal and the inner ring. The elliptical form responds to the nearby historic School of Economics and the green area facing the canal. The design is very contextual in the way it is opening to the south and closing to the north. The building is acting as a new marker along the ring as well.

Since this is a 64-apartment residential building designed for the market, with the client selling the apartments to individual buyers, the design was not significantly influenced by the actual buyers or future residents. However, we had a very good relationship and communication with the client, which led to a pragmatic solution in terms of various apartment typologies, aligned with the client's project brief. On the other hand, we had significant freedom to propose the organization of the building as well as its appearance.

Fortunately, there were no significant changes. What we presented at the initial design stage remained coherent through to the very end.

As is particular for our office, each architectural project aims to define its own spatial, visual, and material language and appearance. This building is not a repetition of any of our previous projects. It builds on several earlier examples, while developing a unique proposal that fits the uniqueness of the site and the brief.

Email interview conducted by John Hill.