Wound/ Aries

European cities are currently experiencing a housing crisis across a wide spectrum of the population, and the city of Prague is no exception. Historically, Prague has already contended with a shortage of affordable housing, notably in the 1920s and 1930s. During this period, residents who could not afford to live in the city relocated to its outskirts, where so-called emergency colonies were formed. One such colony emerged in the Petřiny area, where inhabitants began settling on the site of a former sandstone quarry, created after the extraction of the northern edge of Petřiny. In addition to wooden dwellings, the presence of rock gave rise to rock dwellings carved into it. The proposal addresses this historical context and seeks to redifine the original edge of the extracted sandstone in the form of linear residential buildings that trace its footprint. Its design responds to the presence of rock in the deconstructed facade adjoining the sandstone. Conversely, the outward-facing side strictly defines the street line. The layout composition of the apartments responds to the context of the rock-carved dwellings, whhich are interpreted into a rounded central apartment core.