Edit Architects, s.r.o.

Iconik Apartments

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

Iconik Apartments

Edit! architects

DEVELOPER
Karlín Group

SIGNAGE AND WAY FINDING
Markéta Steinert

COORDINATION
DOMYJINAK

STATICS
Statický servis

FIRE SAFETY CONCEPT
A1 systems

ELECTRO
PMR elektro

FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMS
SHZ projekt

HVAC
MATOUŠEK TZB

TRAFFIC SOLUTION
PRO-FIK

HEALTH AND TECHNICAL INSTALLATIONS
TEPROS

ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
K+K průzkum

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Ivan Boroš, Juraj Calaj, Vítězslav Danda

MANUFACTURERS
Cihelna Kadaň, KPP, Lignis, PKS Okna, Xella

CO AUTHORS
Vojtěch Novotný, Tomáš Voborský

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Metrostav

PHOTOGRAPHS
BoysPlayNice

AREA
5433 m²

LOCATION
Praha 8, Czech Republic

YEAR
2023

CATEGORY
Apartments, Residential

Iconik, a nine-story apartment building designed by the architectural studio edit!, is located in the Karlín district in Prague at one of the last empty sites resulting from the millennium flood.

The plot is situated on the main avenue of a district, that ranks among the most desirable Prague locations, and which has undergone a major architectural and social transformation in the last two decades – once an industrial district transformed into a hip center full of start-ups offices, restaurants and nightlife with its former Secession buildings and factories being now home to top-level gastro and independent galleries.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

The proposed building reflects the rich history of the formerly industrial area in its expression, and its material concept is based on both the historical plotting of the built-up area and the irregular height arrangement of the crown cornices typical for Karlín.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT

The aim was to design a residential building that makes efficient use of the available space following local regulations and the surrounding context. The brief called for the building to be designed to offer small apartments for long or short-term rentals, while also paying natural respect to the history of the neighborhood, the transformation of which the initiators of the project, the Karlín Group and its founder Serge Borenstein, were co-creating since more than twenty years ago – it was them who in 2002 after the flood invited the Catalan architect Riccardo Bofill and young Czech architects and developed a proposal for the transformation of the entire Karlín area.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

Iconik is visually divided into two masses based on the original division of the site and the structure of the city block with alternating roof heights and cornices - in this case, a narrower mass of nine-story and a lower and wider eight-story mass.

The size, height and appearance of the building are influenced, among other things, by the strict requirements for conservation of the urban quality of the Karlín district. The design respects these limits in both volume and material design.

FACADE

The building has two main facades. The first is oriented to the street and the second to the courtyard.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

The street façade establishes the identity of the building itself, where the ceramic cladding with two-tone decoration refers to the traditional materiality of the façades of the 1930s apartment buildings, but also to the local industrial buildings, which have now almost disappeared from the site due to massive development.

A GRID OF WINDOWS AND LOGGIAS FURTHER CHARACTERIZES THE VOLUMES

The system of facade openings allows for proper light to reach each apartment.

All windows are designed with a low sill at 450 mm above the floor, divided into fixed and openable parts.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

Each opening on the upper floors is provided with an external railing, the same principle is also applied to the windows in the adjacent sloped roof. If necessary, especially on the south façade, the windows can be supplemented with fabric shading.

The protruding system of aluminum lamellas in the left part of the façade suggests the contours of the historic building that once stood on the site, thus recalling the original scale and spirit of the place.

The ceramic cladding transitions seamlessly from the vertical façade to the roof level while maintaining the building's contemporary expression.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

PLANNING SOLUTION

The internal layout is a classic three-track with one vertical core, i.e. a standard solution of today's Prague apartment buildings. The three basement floors accommodate parking, technical facilities of the entire building, and cellars.

On the ground floor, there are two commercial units prepared for the operation of a restaurant or bistro with the possibility of utilizing the inner courtyard and the entrance lobby with access to all 48 apartments with a configuration of 1 bedroom + kitchenette to 4 bedrooms + kitchenette, located on levels two to nine - the last two floors are designed as a two-story penthouse with a roof terrace.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

PRIVATE TERRACES

Most apartments with 2 bedrooms and larger have a private loggia or terrace accessible from both the living room and the bedroom.

These outdoor spaces, facing south onto Sokolovská Street, are mostly located in front of the bedrooms, creating a forecourt that screens off the most private part of the home, offering users a higher level of privacy inside the apartment in addition to outdoor seating.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice

Premium units of larger layouts with full-glazed living rooms are located on the upper floors of the home. Their spacious terraces provide a view of the green Vítkov hill and the rooftop landscape of Karlín.

Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice
Iconik Apartments
© BoysPlayNice


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Edit Architects, s.r.o.
T +420 605 901123
Edit Architects, s.r.o.
Bořivojova 38, 130 00 Praha 3-Žižkov, Czech Republic