Architect: OFIS Architecture
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Area: 748m²
Year: 2009-2012
Program: Living space
Client: Private
Type: Extension
Status: Built
Project team: Rok Oman, Spela Videcnik, Andrej Gregoric, Tomaz Gregoric, Janez Martincic, Janja Del Linz, Will Gibson, Andrej Kacera, Jan Smejkal
Structural engineering: Projecta d.o.o.
Mechanical engineering: Jelen & Zaversnik d.n.o.
Electrical engineering: Jelen & Zaversnik d.n.o.
Program: dining area, living space, covered parking, storage
Details: historical residential area, villa extension

Villa T-extension maindoor and front lawn. — The T shape extension view from the front.

Villa T-extension sliding door. — A large panoramic glass wall and sliding door serve as separation from the inside and outside.

Villa T-extension social area. — The ground floor consists of the dining area and living space, and kitchen.

Villa T-extension kitchen and dining area. — The social area is floored with hardwood and a plain white ceiling and a huge transparent sliding door.

Villa T-extension kitchen and stairs. — The outdoor stairs go directly to the social area of the living space and vice versa.

Villa T-extension outdoor hallway. — The villa’s hallway going to the terrace is clad with wood.

Villa T-extension outdoor space. — The villas shape serves as an umbrella atop the living space and supports the terrace on one side.

The client’s family who lives on the ground floor of an apartment villa, commissioned the redevelopment on the south side of the existing building. The client has a functional disability and is restricted to a wheelchair. He lives with his wife, three children, and a dog.

The existing “Villa Dular” is a typical modernistic villa originally designed in 1932 by architect Costaperaria; a white cube with an extensive roof terrace and a top volume finished with wooden cladding. It is surrounded by a garden and other similar residences of its time. The villa is currently inhabited by different owners on each floor.

The task at hand was to design a new extension to the ground floor with a dining area and living space, including covered parking for a car and a storage space for bicycles. The client requested the roof be used as a terrace for the apartment on the first floor. All floor surfaces were designed with slopes and wheelchair access in mind.

The T shape extension works as an umbrella above the living space: supporting the terrace on one side and creating a parking roof on the other side. The roof over the parking and ramp is a cantilevered pergola covered with Perspex panels in a light green color.

The connection between the existing villa and the intervention is a glass volume as part of the living space. The sides that face the garden and the entry courtyard are large panoramic glass walls with a framed sliding window in oiled oak. The cladding of the new extension is an assembly of bleached larch wood verticals in 2×2, 3×3 or 4×4 cm, in a rhythm that creates a pleated texture.