Slovenian studio OFIS Arhitekti have completed a project to create suburban affordable housing in Podpec, Slovenia,

Called Backbone Village Houses, the buildings are clad in fiber-cement tiles, larch wood strips and coloured plaster.

Each house has a long balcony on the first floor, enclosed by a wooden frame.

The village is made up of affordable three-bedroom houses that are targeted towards young families.

Photographs are by Tomaz Gregoric.

Here is some more information from OFIS:

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The town of Ljubljana is surrounded by numerous dense rural formations of different scales. Together by branching with main urban core they form a city.

As the city is expanding from the inside out, the urban and rural formations are slowly dissolving together. With uncontrolled urban growth the historical rural typologies are slowly loosing their patterns, character and qualities.

Village Podpec is becoming one of these typical suburban area. Although surrounded by wider green area with fields and wild nature, local resorts have no qualities in new built environment.

Sewing a village tissue

The project is part of an urban study for suburban areas outside Ljubljana highway ring.
 The Main proposed idea was the condensation of village cores with branching – traditional historical rural layout of condensed longitudinal buildings along the road with kept green area around. Internal roads act as spinal cord, eight plots with longitudinal houses are branching like ribs.

Sustainable-economical issues

These kinds of plots with houses are targeted towards young families that can not afford to live in the centre and want their own garden space, dissolving into the green surrounding. On the other hand they bring back new vitality into village tissue.

3 bedroom houses with attached gardens and three external parking spaces were designed at 140-160.000 EUR each, an affordable price for young couples with a reasonable bank loan.

Therefore basic concept had to be based on economical, rational and flexible issues. Each house has 2 floors, 55sqm each.

Each unit was built unto the fitting finished floors and sanitary elements in bathrooms.
 Ground-floor consists of a central living area and kitchen with storage.

The living area has the possibility of an additional room such as guest-bedroom or working space. The Living area opens to the elevated veranda and small inner garden.

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The first floor functions as a sleeping area, providing 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms and wardrobes.
 There is a long terrace with a pergola along the bedrooms.

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Designed pitched roof allows space for a gallery or storage. 
Materials are larch wood, plaster and glass.

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Location: Podpec, Slovenia
Type: one family housing
Client: Private
House: 110sqm (55 sqm / floor)
Plot size: 420m2
Parking and entrance: 80m2
Garden: 165m2
Terrace: 40m2
Structure: reinforced concrete, brick fillings
Roof structure: Wooden
Max. Height: 8.30 m

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Project team:
Rok Oman, Spela Videcnik, 
Andrej Gregoric, 
Javier Carrera,
 Janez Martincic,
 Katja Aljaz