Kuba & Pilař architekti’s multi-storey timber housing in Žďár nad Sázavou reinterprets the traditional urban block to deliver affordable rental homes organised around a layered sequence of public and private spaces.

Eduardo Souto de Moura at his office in Porto, Portugal, April 2025 (photo: Shun Kambe / The Japan Art Association).

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Kuba & Pilař architekti has completed a pair of multi-storey timber residential buildings in Žďár nad Sázavou, in the Czech Republic. Located within the Klafar area to the northwest of the city, the project occupies a prominent corner site at the intersection of Sázavská and K Milířům streets, forming part of a wider urban structure based on the principles of a traditional perimeter block.

The scheme is organised to establish a clear hierarchy of spaces, moving from the public realm of the street, through a semi-private courtyard, to more intimate front gardens. The buildings define the edge of the block while enclosing a south-facing courtyard, conceived as a shared space for residents. To the west, this arrangement opens out to landscaped leisure areas, integrating the development into its wider context.

The project is defined by a series of simple vertical sections, each rising to four storeys and structured by transverse load-bearing walls. Between these, recessed loggias introduce depth and variation across the façades, screened by timber shutters that create a layered interplay of opacity and transparency. Along the northern elevation facing Sázavská Street, access galleries and circulation cores give the buildings a more closed and ordered appearance, punctuated by strip windows.

This organisation allows the residential volumes to shift subtly towards the courtyard, forming vertical atria of varying depths that bring greenery into the heart of the scheme. Apartments are predominantly oriented to the southwest, ensuring good daylight to both living spaces and bedrooms, while dual-aspect layouts enable natural cross-ventilation.

At the centre of the development, the courtyard is raised to the level of the first floor and designed as a communal garden. Here, gravel surfaces, planting beds and shaded seating areas are arranged beneath clusters of trees, while a pergola provides a focal point for gathering. A stepped, amphitheatre-like landscape negotiates the change in level between the courtyard and the adjacent ground plane, creating informal seating and reinforcing the social character of the space.

Construction is based on a prefabricated system, with walls and floor slabs formed from cross-laminated timber panels. These are complemented by glued laminated timber elements in the gallery structures, while reinforced concrete is used selectively for circulation cores and external structural components. This hybrid approach balances the efficiency and low embodied carbon of timber with the durability and stability of concrete where required.

The project adopts a compact, modular form that supports environmental and economic performance. Passive design strategies include external shading provided by timber shutters and the use of natural ventilation through dual-aspect apartments, while vegetation is incorporated at multiple levels, from planted atria to green roof elements, contributing to improved microclimates and enhancing the relationship between built form and landscape.

Among the first multi-storey timber housing projects of its kind in the Czech Republic, timber has been used extensively for project’s structural panels, façades and window elements, lending warmth and tactility, while steel and aluminium components are employed for railings and detailing. The external spaces are finished with gravel and planting, reinforcing the scheme’s emphasis on permeability and natural systems.

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