LUMINOR Apartments

Location
Our office was commissioned to design two residential buildings on two connecting plots, close to Normafa forest, at the highest part of Budapest. A hotel, built in 1972, was on one of the plots, which had to be converted into an apartment building. The technical condition of the existing structure did not allow us to keep it, so finally, we designed a new building with the same structural grid, but with new reinforced concrete columns and slabs, and with large openings and high internal spaces.

Environment, connection with nature
Our goal was to strengthen the connection with the garden and nature by creating as much green as we could. The site, located at the edge of the forest, was designed as a woody, grove-like park, which acts as a common area and connects the plots. We kept the original form of the ancient hotel, and we connected the building to the beautiful green surroundings with natural materials, large balconies, and terraces. 

The façade is almost completely transparent in 3 directions. The duplex apartments’ double-height living and dining rooms face to the view and to the terraces with two-story high glass openings. The woods around Normafa inspired us to choose natural façade materials: the horizontal cornices and slabs are covered with greyish travertine. The randomly positioned vertical lamellas of the balconies and terraces reflect the surrounding trees. The façade’s large openings and atriums are designed to blend into nature and the vegetation.

Functional design
The fantastic panoramic view can be enjoyed from every apartment thanks to the building's layout. Planted atriums provide natural daylight for the ground floor’s interiors, while they also maintain the intimacy of the units. The living rooms opened to the exterior with large balconies and terraces above the ground floor, have double-height. The balconies and terraces, running along 3 elevations, are located on every other level to ensure natural light. Access to the duplex units is possible from the ground floor and on odd-numbered levels.

The garage in the basement is on the same level as the street, but due to the sloping terrain, it is located partly below the building and below the garden, covered by a green roof. Apart from parking places, on this level, storages and a fitness area are located, around an internal patio which provides daylight even below ground level.

Above the garage, on the ground floor, the entrance lobby with reception and apartments with associated pergola-covered terraces are positioned. We designed additional community functions here: a community area with an atrium and tea kitchen.

The building consists of a basement, ground floor, and 6 floors with a total of 25 apartments.

Location: Budapest, XII. district, Hungary 
Function: residential
Phase: under construction
Type: commission
Client:  Luminor Apartments Kft.
Architecture: TIBA Architects Studio 
Lead Architects: Zsófia Buzder-Lantos, Zoltán Király
Project Architects: Diána Csépányi, Csongor Hajdú, Zoltán Virágh, Tünde Tóth 
Project Management: DVM Group Kft.
Structure: Olivér Kovács (structural lead engineer), Péter Kiss (EFERTE Kft.)
Electrical Designers:  András Peták (electrical lead engineer) (AP Electric Design Kft.)
Mechanical Designers: Gábor Szigyártó (mechanical lead engineer), György Kurunczi (SMG-SISU Kft.)
Landscape Architects: Péter István Balogh PhD (lead landscape architect), József Major, Luca Hrabák, Zsuzsa Kincső Padka (s73 Tájépítész Tervező Iroda Kft.)
Environmental protection, building acoustics: Ervin Kanász-Szabó (KörIM Mérnökiroda Kft.)
Design: 2020-2023 
Construction: 2022-2024
Gross floor area: 6395 m2