Contemporary residential architecture is increasingly trying to respond to the changing needs of residents. A project by Aleksandra Szeliga of the Silesian University of Technology's Faculty of Architecture is a proposal that goes a step further. "Mills House" is a concept for a modular multifamily building designed in Olkusz that adapts to the lives of residents/residents, not the other way around. Flexibility, sustainability and social integration are the pillars on which the idea is based.
cross-section, elevation
© Aleksandra Szeliga
Modules that grow with you
The central idea of the project is a modular system of apartments - M2, M3, M4 and M5 - that can be freely combined and transformed according to the needs of tenants. With this solution, a one-room apartment can turn into a spacious family suite, or vice versa - a larger space can be divided when there are fewer household members. This flexible approach to space planning allows you to live in one place for many years, without having to move due to changes in living situations.
functional layout of apartments
© Aleksandra Szeliga
Each apartment - regardless of its size - gets access to daylight from two sides of the world and its own terrace. This is not only an aesthetic addition, but also a health-promoting and life-enhancing solution. The project also provides for clear, repeatable functional layouts, which allows the entire building to be scaled - both upwards and horizontally - and to be tailored to a particular plot of land or the investor's needs.
visualization
© Aleksandra Szeliga
green space and energy from nature
One of the most expressive elements of the concept is the way the first floor is developed. The architect abandons the typical first floor development - only staircases are located there, while all the remaining space is given over to nature and residents. In this way, green, semi-private courtyards are created, safe and accessible only to tenants. Rest zones, places for exercise or relaxation create microclimates that foster neighborly relations and improve the quality of life.
On the roof of the building, a semi-public common space was planned for inter-neighborhood integration and shared use of an attractively designed terrace. Pro-environmental solutions have not been lacking either: on the southern part of the roof, the installation of photovoltaic panels is planned, and on the north side - towers with wind turbines with a horizontal axis of rotation, integrated into the body of the building. The building is thus self-sufficient in energy, based solely on renewable energy sources - sun and wind.
visualization
© Aleksandra Szeliga
"Mills House" is not just a building, but a holistic vision of a new lifestyle - flexible, friendly, ecological. It proves that architecture can respond to modern challenges without sacrificing the quality of space and concern for the planet. Aleksandra Szeliga's project shows that the future of housing can be not only more functional, but also more human.