Residence Hlubočepy

There are places where the countryside and the city meet so closely that the boundary between them ceases to exist. Hlubočepy is precisely such a place. To the south lies a forest, to the east the Dalejský Stream, to the west winds the Prague Semmering railway line with its historic viaducts, and to the north stands Hlubočepy Castle. Building here means entering into a conversation that nature, water, and the railroad have been having for over a century.
The proposed apartment buildings do not drown out this conversation; on the contrary, they complement it pleasantly. In form and scale, they draw on the historic development and do not exceed the silhouette of the chateau. The two buildings follow the contour lines and floor plan of the original structures, completing the appearance of a cul-de-sac at the edge of the neighborhood—a place where the city naturally ends and the forest begins.
A pedestrian path runs through the site, connecting the residential part of Hlubočepy with the hillside. Its route is not random. It is routed to gradually reveal views of the historic railway viaduct. A terraced staircase with seating and lighting transforms the path into a stopping point where the view opens up to the valley.
The eastern facades facing the Vltava River are complemented by horizontally divided balconies, framing the view like a painting. The western side, facing the forest, offers front gardens and direct contact with greenery. Gable roofs of gray sheet metal, light-colored plaster, dark window frames, and greenery climbing up gabion baskets—a functional palette of materials that belongs here, at the interface between city and landscape.