By making improvements to our buildings, we not only achieve more for ourselves – we are also benefiting our children. Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Energy
Atika is a house for the Mediterranean climate that looks into the future of our living environments. It focuses on creating a healthy, low-energy environment with good indoor comfort and optimal daylight conditions all year round, supporting the efforts of the European Commission to save energy. It offers a solution for an energy-efficient house in regions with plenty of sun, mild winters and hot summers, where ventilation and cooling systems are traditionally major energy consumers. In Atika, traditional and low-tech solutions such as natural ventilation and shading meet the latest technology in a wide range of the newest VELUX products in a contempor-ary architectural environment.
Atika is part of the VELUX Group’s effort to strengthen relations with strategic partners in the construction sector, to initiate discussions on issues such as future housing concepts, healthy buildings and sustainable city development, on low energy consumption strategies, on a more integral use of solar thermal energy (not only for heating but also for cooling), on intelligent building management systems and on modular building techniques.
By making improvements to our buildings, we not only achieve more for ourselves – we are also benefiting our children. Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Energy
Atika is a house for the Mediterranean climate that looks into the future of our living environments. It focuses on creating a healthy, low-energy environment with good indoor comfort and optimal daylight conditions all year round, supporting the efforts of the European Commission to save energy. It offers a solution for an energy-efficient house in regions with plenty of sun, mild winters and hot summers, where ventilation and cooling systems are traditionally major energy consumers. In Atika, traditional and low-tech solutions such as natural ventilation and shading meet the latest technology in a wide range of the newest VELUX products in a contempor-ary architectural environment.
Atika is part of the VELUX Group’s effort to strengthen relations with strategic partners in the construction sector, to initiate discussions on issues such as future housing concepts, healthy buildings and sustainable city development, on low energy consumption strategies, on a more integral use of solar thermal energy (not only for heating but also for cooling), on intelligent building management systems and on modular building techniques.
Concept:
The Atika concept is an example of future strategies for low-energy housing that can be built with existing products, using the design of the building to optimise its energy performance.
40 % of the total energy consumption is the energy consumed by buildings. Two thirds of it are used in dwellings.
Jean Christophe Visier, head of the sustainable development department of the French Building Research Institute CSTB.
Vernacular architecture in southern Europe is characterised by its clever and simple use of resources: the sun and air in abundance but with water as a scarcer commodity. or centuries, these resources have been used for cooling or heating and for achieving the best possible comfort of human habitats.
The density and thickness of the outside walls as a thermal buffer and the white lime cladding as a reflecting technique, the window shutters, the shadows from buildings and overhangs, the narrow streets and the patios as a way of ensuring shade and forcing air to flow, and the use of running water for cooling are some of the authentic solutions of Mediterranean architecture.
Inspired by the Mediterranean tradition, Atika is an attempt to achieve greater comfort and reduced energy consumption in a house with simple but effective solutions. It attempts to bridge and combine the best of past and future: the simplicity and the economy of resources of traditional architecture with the most recent technology in construction, heating, cooling and building automation.
Attics have not been traditionally thought of as inhabitable spaces. They are often storage spaces, insufficiently insulated and unpleasantly hot in summer and cold in winter. In the Mediterranean building tradition, the attic is a buffer zone of air, acting as an insulating and ventilating space between the roof and the rest of the building.
Atika aims at demonstrating that intelligent architecture combined with VELUX systems can transform attics into comfortable and attractive living space. Atika is also a showcase of VELUX products. The sloping roof surfaces of the house display roof windows and solar panels at different orientations.
Concept:
The Atika concept is an example of future strategies for low-energy housing that can be built with existing products, using the design of the building to optimise its energy performance.
40 % of the total energy consumption is the energy consumed by buildings. Two thirds of it are used in dwellings.
Jean Christophe Visier, head of the sustainable development department of the French Building Research Institute CSTB.
Vernacular architecture in southern Europe is characterised by its clever and simple use of resources: the sun and air in abundance but with water as a scarcer commodity. or centuries, these resources have been used for cooling or heating and for achieving the best possible comfort of human habitats.
The density and thickness of the outside walls as a thermal buffer and the white lime cladding as a reflecting technique, the window shutters, the shadows from buildings and overhangs, the narrow streets and the patios as a way of ensuring shade and forcing air to flow, and the use of running water for cooling are some of the authentic solutions of Mediterranean architecture.
Inspired by the Mediterranean tradition, Atika is an attempt to achieve greater comfort and reduced energy consumption in a house with simple but effective solutions. It attempts to bridge and combine the best of past and future: the simplicity and the economy of resources of traditional architecture with the most recent technology in construction, heating, cooling and building automation.
Attics have not been traditionally thought of as inhabitable spaces. They are often storage spaces, insufficiently insulated and unpleasantly hot in summer and cold in winter. In the Mediterranean building tradition, the attic is a buffer zone of air, acting as an insulating and ventilating space between the roof and the rest of the building.
Atika aims at demonstrating that intelligent architecture combined with VELUX systems can transform attics into comfortable and attractive living space. Atika is also a showcase of VELUX products. The sloping roof surfaces of the house display roof windows and solar panels at different orientations.
Architecture:
Atika’s special feature is the roof with different slopes, where windows can be placed depending on the daylight conditions and ventilation effects you want to obtain. The slopes try to imitate Mediterranean architecture, like a small village.
Seen from a distance, Atika has a white zigzagging profile.
Architecture:
Atika’s special feature is the roof with different slopes, where windows can be placed depending on the daylight conditions and ventilation effects you want to obtain. The slopes try to imitate Mediterranean architecture, like a small village.
In full accordance with traditional Mediterranean architecture, it consists of a series of rooms around an open space – a patio – that functions as a climate regulator by means of a shadowing canopy, a water pond and some vegetation.
Atika can appear different from situation to situation – depending on the orientation, the type and use of space and the optimal daylighting and indoor climate in each case. This makes Atika a flexible organism that can open and close, breathe, capture and harness solar energy and transform it according to the season.
The layout of Atika houses a typical single-family space. It is divided into three parts, inscribed in a square of 10 by 10 m. Two aisles to the west and east – 10 m long and 3.5 m wide – configure the main living functions, separated by the entrance area and the open patio terrace in between. The slopes of the roofs are north-south oriented. Each space inside the house has its own roof geometry.
The west aisle, with its sliding windows onto the patio oriented towards the morning sun, houses, from south to north, the bedroom, the wardrobe unit with a working space on the back and the bathroom. The big window area on the steep roof facing north, over the bedroom, provides magnificent views of the night sky, making it possible to fall asleep looking at the stars. From the working place, the whole house is visible. Although placed on the north side, because of its slight roof slope to the south the bathroom catches the warm light of direct sunshine.
Architecture:
Atika’s special feature is the roof with different slopes, where windows can be placed depending on the daylight conditions and ventilation effects you want to obtain. The slopes try to imitate Mediterranean architecture, like a small village.
The west aisle, with its sliding windows onto the patio oriented towards the morning sun, houses, from south to north, the bedroom, the wardrobe unit with a working space on the back and the bathroom. The big window area on the steep roof facing north, over the bedroom, provides magnificent views of the night sky, making it possible to fall asleep looking at the stars. From the working place, the whole house is visible. Although placed on the north side, because of its slight roof slope to the south the bathroom catches the warm light of direct sunshine.
Architecture:
The east aisle, with its sliding windows onto the patio oriented to the afternoon light, is an open space for living, dining and cooking.
On the south facade, a pleasant seating in the living room, similar to a winter garden, opens onto a panoramic view to the south. The ceramic floor tiles store the heat of the gentle winter sun, irradiating it later during the night.
The high north-facing roof windows over the dining area help to ventilate the house and admit daylight. The kitchen, as has become usual in contemporary housing, plays an important role in the atmosphere of the house. It is open and functionally optimised. A long horizontal window on the north facade over the kitchen work surface provides good daylight for working and a view towards the entrance.
Architecture:
The layout around the patio makes it possible to enjoy the house in many different and personal ways. The different spaces can be fully opened to the patio during the warm months, creating a single living experience. The privacy of each space is ensured by shutters at night.
The interior partitions and ceilings are white-painted plasterboard partitions, ensuring the best possible light reflection and brightness of the roof windows above.
Floor plan
Entrance: 7.47 m2
Kitchen: 5.91 m2
Living and dining: 22.43 m2
Bathroom: 4.86 m2
Working: 7.74 m2
Wardrobe: 3 m2
Bedroom: 10.57 m2
Technical room: 1 m2
Total dwelling area: 62.98 m2
Access stairs: 11.57 m2
Elevator: 1.69 m2
Access terrace: 10.28 m2
Interior patio: 19.03 m2
South terrace: 20.47 m2
Total top floor area: 126.02 m2
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