Diorit Residence is a multi-residential complex set within a rehabilitated quarry at the edge of Brno, where architecture is calibrated to an existing ecology. A terraced mass negotiates steep rock faces, while a continuous acoustic edge addresses the street. Mineral-plaster walls, profiled translucent glass, and perforated metal articulate an envelope that balances daylight, privacy, and sound control. A green roof park extends the quarry’s vegetation across the block, paired with ground-source heat and rainwater systems that reduce operational load and reinforce the site’s environmental continuity.
Diorit Residence Technical Information
- Architects: Architekti DRNH
- Location: Bystrcká 1357/34, 624 00 Brno-Komín, Czech Republic
- Gross Area: 15,962 m2 | 171,813 Sq. Ft.
- Project Years: 2018 – 2025
- Photographs: © Petr Polák
We read the quarry as an active terrain and ecology rather than a void to be filled. The building thickens the urban edge and relaxes toward the rock, so habitation and landscape can interlock without one suppressing the other.
– Antonín Novák
Quarry Ecology as Design Driver
The project is situated in a former stone quarry within the Svratka River valley, where spontaneous succession has created a resilient habitat. Instead of resetting the site, the scheme treats the brownfield as a resource, aligning construction with an established ecological gradient from street to rock wall. Existing vegetation on the faces is preserved to the extent possible, and newly introduced plant communities are selected to diversify habitat layers while stabilizing slopes.
A recreational green roof spans the underground garage and serves as an ecological bridge between the built mass and the quarry terraces. This planted surface moderates microclimate through evapotranspiration and provides visual continuity across the block, allowing most apartments to address green rather than asphalt. By reusing an industrial plot at the city’s edge, the project curbs outward expansion, reconnects a marginal zone to local pedestrian and ecological networks, and reinforces the river corridor with controlled stormwater behavior.
Massing as Topographic Translation and Acoustic Device
The building appears as a calibrated thickness along the street, absorbing traffic noise, and then steps down into a terraced interior court. The massing traces the quarry’s steep walls, combining smooth radii with sharp inflections that echo fractured geology. These shifts translate the site’s topographic breaks into habitable edges, producing a porous inner landscape that is protected from the road yet open to sun and sky.
A glazed corridor runs parallel to the main road, doubling as both a circulation and acoustic buffer. Daylight enters this spine while the layered facade filters views and attenuates sound, allowing residents to orient intuitively along a luminous edge rather than a dark internal hall. Toward the court, setbacks and planted terraces thicken the threshold between the interior and the landscape, extending domestic use into the slope and tightening the relationship between the dwelling and the rock.
Housing Typologies and Shared Space
The plan features a spectrum of apartments, ranging from compact studios to larger family units, with primary rooms facing the park and quarry. Green terraces serve as seasonal extensions of living areas, transforming the steep topography into a daily amenity rather than a backdrop. End sections on each floor exploit dual-aspect conditions and include roof terraces with long views across the Svratka valley, which helps diversify daylight profiles and cross-ventilation within the building.
A hybrid circulation system combines stair cores with corridor segments, reducing travel distances and allowing multiple routes to the landscape. Shared spaces are designed for legibility through calibrated color and lighting, allowing residents to read the building’s sectional changes rather than relying solely on signage. Commercial units and a reception at the urban edge animate the street frontage, while interior community areas face the quieter court, reinforcing the gradient from city to quarry.
Structure, Envelope, and Environmental Performance
The primary structure utilizes transverse and perimeter-reinforced concrete walls with monolithic slabs, providing the long street edge with stiffness and acoustic mass. The underground garage is a monolithic frame that leaves segments of natural rock faces exposed, turning the quarry wall into a structural and spatial datum. This approach reduces the need for heavy retaining elements and maintains the geology’s legibility within everyday circulation.
The envelope couples insulated mineral-plaster walls with profiled translucent glass and perforated metal. The mineral system provides thermal continuity and robustness, while the ribbed glass diffuses daylight into corridors and living spaces without sacrificing privacy. Perforated metal screens articulate stair towers and secondary edges, adding a breathable acoustic layer that ventilates and shades the space. Ground-source heat pumps draw from deep wells to handle heating and cooling. Rainwater is stored for irrigation, and excess stormwater is released to the river in a controlled manner. Together, these measures reduce energy demand, limit peak loads on municipal infrastructure, and align building performance with the site’s hydrological and ecological cycles.
About Architekti DRNH
Architekti DRNH is an architectural studio based in Brno, Czech Republic, founded in 1991 by Antonín Novák and Petr Valenta. The studio integrates architecture and landscape with a commitment to sustainability, ecological responsibility, and sensitivity to context. DRNH’s projects span public, residential, cultural, and educational buildings, often recognized for their harmony with nature and lasting environmental value. Notable works include the Kraví Hora Swimming Complex and the renovation of Reduta Theatre. The studio has received numerous national and international awards, underscoring its dedication to thoughtful, sustainable design.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Landscape designers: Klára Stachová, Marie Gelová, Pavla Drbalová
- Garden design: Mirka Poláchová
- Client: PMP Investment Group
- Construction company: MORAVOSTAV Brno
- Concrete works: NEOL – STAV
- Electrical installations: SITEL
- Metalwork: FS POWER PLUS
- Sanitary ware: Koupelny Ptáček
- Flooring supplier: Kratochvíl parket profi
- Interior doors: Podeta
- Heat pumps supplier: IVAR CS
