Housing Estate in Tartu, Estonia. Invited competition, 1st prize

What makes a Villa?
The villa-type has changed over the centuries. Long after Palladio made an icon with the Villa Rotonda in 1571 it was Mies who set the standards for villas in the 20th century with the Villa Tugendhat in 1930 and the Barcelona Pavilion in 1929. Still in our days the single family house a sometimes romantic vision of the villa - is the most wanted living type; more than 50% of our population want to have it or at least dream of it (Despite of the high costs and influence on our environment). 

So we asked ourselves a question:
Would it be possible to combine the space and the "single" of the private villa with the economic advantages of an apartment house?
The advantages are striking: less building costs per m², less maintenance costs, no gardening (except if favoured), no isolation for your kids, etc. Still the main issues for the private villa are the garden outdoors, the boundless view and (most of all) the sense of privacy and private property. Therefor we had to go even further: 

The stacked Villas
In simply stacking one villa or penthouse as the urban equivalent next to each other and on top of each other while giving them the required qualities space, view, outdoor it is possible to combine both types and advantages. After all it would be very clever even for people who could afford much more to choose the stacked Villa type.

Project Facts

444 appartments
net floor area (excl. parking): 29.200m² 

Team: Atelier Thomas Pucher &  Bramberger [architects] Thomas Pucher, Alfred Bramberger, Birte Böer, Ana Norgard, Rupert Richter-Trummer, Hans Waldör, Martin Mathy, Georg Auinger, Erich Österbauer, Sabine-Katharina Egarter

Local Consultant:Michael Kamenik; Nowhere
Structural Design:Thomas Lorenz ZT Gmbh & Peter Mandl ZT GmbH
Energydesign, Building Physics: Roland Müller 
Mechanical & Electrical Design:Die Haustechniker

photos: www.lukasschaller.at

> via Atelier Thomas Pucher &  Bramberger