Transformation of Space

architects Vedrana Ergić, Marko Murtić
project Ribnjak Apartment, Zagreb, Croatia
written by Ante Nikša Bilić

 

The Lebinec House, Ribnjak 20, was built by the architect Slavko Löwy in 1937. It was a paradigm for the new building line of the street, Ribnjak. Its five-storey volume entirely oriented toward Ribnjak Park and the spires of Zagreb Cathedral is determined by a thin reinforced concrete frame with recessed balconies and a roof terrace. The flat roof terrace lies on the structural grid of the dwelling below, its bivalence equally shared by the flat longitudinal layout and the green panorama of Ribnjak Park. Anglo-Saxons call such a manifesto of “nature on the roof” a penthouse. 

 

Architects Vedrana Ergić, Marko Murtić and the team of the AAG design center implemented contemporary technology into the layout of the penthouse. A kind of acupunctural improvement of the original building was performed, enabling at the same time the development of a whole series of new configurations. The same method can be seen in several recent realizations where the authors in a consistent manner have developed their own perception of transformation of space.