Red Apple - THE NEW 12-STORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING WITH SPACIOUS APARTMENTS ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK

Red Apple

RED APPLE IS NOT A COPY-PASTE FROM A BROADWAY SHOW STAGE SET. IT IS A BUILDING WITH ITS OWN CHARACTER AND WOULD COMFORTABLY FIT EITHER ON THE STREETS OF MANHATTAN OR THOSE OF SOFIA. IT CONTAINS THE EXPLOSIVE ENERGY OF NEW YORK’S ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES.

AN INSPIRED & INSPIRING LIVING SPACE FOR PEOPLE WITH A NEW CONCEPT FOR LIFE–DANDY-BOURGEOISIE, GLOBAL NOMADS, CREATIVE THINKERS, BROAD MINDS, OR IN OTHER WORDS ALL WHO ARE SELECTIVE OF THE HOME THEY BUY.

COMMISSIONING - MAY 2013

YOU WILL SOON FIND IT IN SOFIA’S PREMIUM NEIGHBORHOOD IVAN VAZOV, 2A STEFAN MILANOV ST. – ON THE CORNER OF BIALA CHERKVA & P.J.TODOROV STREETS.

IT OFFERS

- VARIETY OF APARTMENTS - DIFFERENT IN SIZE & PLAN
- GROUND LEVEL SHOPS
- OFFICES
- CONVENIENT UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT

ARCHITECTURE

Concept

The building is inspired by the city that never sleeps and the neighborhood Sofia will never have – Soho. The 60s creative scene that brethed new live into the abandoned sewing factories of New York, turning them into a vibrant creative habitat – an internal combustion engine for ideas, is what we miss most. The contrast betweeen the rugged, aged look of the bricks, the metal frames, and the space within – inspred by human creativity, recreates the energy of the 60s in NY.

Façade

In order to recreate the complex atmosphere of a whole New York neighborhood, our architects selected the most logical, eternal building block – the brick. The “aged effect” red brick gives Red Apple stature & the romantic touch of times past. Two types of Flemish masonry add to the picture – the first type being classical, the second, reminiscent of checkered fabric, is a conscious effort of the architects to reinterpret classical form into a contemporary visual effect. The gigantic surrealist flower pots that “grow” on the ground level & on the roof tickle the senses & challenge the imagination.

Plan

The building’s blueprint follows the irregular borders of the terrain. The sharp edges thus formed call to mind the dynamics of the Expressionist Chile Haus in Hamburg. The ground level holds 9 shops facing Biala Cherkva & P.J.Petkov streets. Vehicle & pedestrian access to the building are functionally separated – pedestrians can access the residential & office spaces from the North-West entrance, while the underground parking lot entrance is on the North-East. The spacious entrance hall of the residential part of the building has the pleasant ambient atmosphere & light created by the triangular atrium above it, cutting through all 12 stories of the building to the very roof.

The location of the building allows no space for mediocre architecture. Each story has a different plan, each apartment is different from the rest. This is not merely an attempt at originality, but a fact provoked by the 18 living rooms with ceiling 6 meters tall that create the uniqueness of the interiors. The living rooms themselves are not the same for each apartment – some retreat from the façade, others protrude with metal balconies, while a third type boasts 6 meter tall French windows. The small steel balconies that have “landed” like sparrows in front of these tall windows are a symbolic reference to New York’s famous fire escapes.

Apartments’ interior plan is bold, immediately transporting you to the atmosphere of New York’s lofts. The use of the façade as weight-bearing structure and the functional positioning of service spaces guarantee the lack of columns in your loft. If you are not a fan of open space architecture & prefer to divide your apartment into more separate rooms – the space is flexible enough to allow it. It is all up to you and your unique lifestyle.

STRUCTURE

The building structure is monolithic, made of reinforced concrete. The slabs between the floors are 30 cm thick, resulting in high sound-proof levels. Vertical and horizontal building pressure is consumed by reinforced concrete walls and the main foundation slab.

To ensure highest quality of the construction, concrete type B40 with cement type N1 is used, together with enhancer FLY ASH and reinforcing steel class S500s with high resistance to periodic and seismic pressure.

The bearing construction is tested for durability, susceptibility to deformation and fracturing due to vertical, horizontal and temperature pressure in accordance with Bulgarian, EU and US standards.

The high standards and control during the planning and construction of the bearing structure guarantee that the inhabitants will not face any secondary defects and fractures, and will enjoy a high degree of reliability of the building.

WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE

WATER MAINS

The water-supply installation is divided provisionally into three parts: potable and household water mains, building’s fire-fighting water installation with hydrants, and sprinkler installation in the underground garage. The three systems will operate on the gravitation principle. The distribution networks are with lower distribution. The pipes are located along the ceiling of the basement, laid on a metal grid and wrapped in thermal isolation. The vertical water mains branches are assembled in installation shafts. On the distribution network’s deviations leading to the vertical pipes, screw taps with dischargers are assembled, to provide for handling with the water mains during operation. The floor deviations are built in the walls or in fore-wall plasterboard platings. Some floor deviations are laid in the floor levelling putty, placed within a corrugated protective pipe.

The hot water for potable and household needs will be collected in 3 boilers, each with capacity of 1000 litres. The boilers are combined. The hot water will be fed into them from high-temperature thermal-pump aggregates of the air-water type, and where needed, the water will be also heated by an electric heater. The boilers are positioned in a substation located in the basement.

The constant supply of hot water will be provided by a circulation installation. For the purpose, a circulation pump will be assembled as well.

The consumed water – cold and hot, will be measured by individual apartment water meters with pulse terminals, providing for remote sensing.

The water-supply installation will be made by the following types of pipes: the deviations for potable and household needs will be made of polypropylene pipes, the internal fire-fighting and sprinkler installation will be made of steel zinc-plated pipes, as well as the section from the water mains entry into the building to the deviation for the potable and household water supply branches. The water supply branches located within the building will be made of HDPE. The polypropylene pipes for cold water are PN16, and those for hot water are PN20 with aluminum insert.

SEWERAGE

Rainwater will be collected into a horizontal network suspended from the basement’s ceiling. Flat roofs, open terraces and loggia will be drained by water-collecting drain-pipes built in the front-walls and linear gutters – grids and a system of external and internal drain-pipes. The internal ones will be placed in the installation shafts and the external ones will be built in the front walls. The external drain-pipes will also collect condensed water from the air-conditioners. The drain-pipes will be connected to the horizontal channel by a siphon to prevent the penetration of sewerage gases to the drainage grids and the air-conditioner bodies.

Rainwater from the yard will be collected by drainers – water-collection grids. Waste water in the basement, under the level of the sewerage system, will be collected by water-collection grids and a sewerage network, built in the foundation slab, and taken away to a compact modular sewerage station. The latter is provided with factory-installed sewerage pump which will re-pump automatically this water to the level of the suspended sewerage system.

The sewerage installation will be made by the following types of pipes: a suspended horizontal sewerage system, vertical pipes, and floor drainage deviations made of PVC pipes. The drainage branches of the air-conditioning bodies will be made of polypropylene pipes.

HVAC

AIR-CONDITIONING

A double-pipe VRV system is provided which allows for all internal bodies of the system to operate in the same mode, i.е. without heat transfer from the premises that are cooled to the premises that are heated.

The VRV systems are high-efficiency last-generation modular systems which provide to connect up to 48 internal bodies to a maximum of three external aggregates. The systems are provided with microprocessor local control and in-built facility for connection to the building’s energy management system.

The VRV systems boast the following advantages:

The whole equipment system is produced by the same manufacturer – external modular aggregates, internal bodies, building’s energy management system, which provides for the coordinated and problem-free operation of the air-conditioning system.

Each floor is provided with its own servicing system, whereas within the same floor the systems are grouped by front (west front and north-east front). The external bodies are located on the building’s roof. The horizontal pipings and the vertical pipings are made of copper pipes of variable cross-section. The entire pipe network is isolated as a must by microporous rubber isolation with thickness of 9 mm.

An energy monitoring system is provided, which provides for easy monitoring of the electric energy used for heating or cooling. The recording system will be positioned in a technical room located at level ±0,00m.

VENTILATION

The air exchange in the building is designed in such a way as to ensure the required hygienic norms of microclimate and air purity in the areas with polluted air. No mechanical ventilation is provided in the premises that can be ventilated directly.

The ventilation network consists of air pipings made of galvanized iron sheets.

For level - 4,00 a suction installation is provided based on the calculated harmful emissions, whereas the compensation will be fed through the loading platform and the openings at level ±0,00. The system will be made of rectangular open air conveyors with ventilation grids. The air will be conveyed to a ventilation shaft intended for the purpose and will be evacuated above the building’s roof using an axial ventilator.

The ventilation of the sanitation premises is of the compulsory suction ventilation type, implemented using autonomous reverse-valve axial ventilators. The ventilators are activated by a switch located next to the lighting switch.

The ventilation of the shops is provided by an autonomous general-exchange ventilation system with a recuperation block. The system will be made by spiral-coiled and rectangular air conveyors. The fresh air is sucked by the building’s front, filtered, recuperated, heated in a ventilation chamber and distributed into the premises through a system or circular air conveyors and ventilation grids with a box and a valve connected by a flexible air conveyor. The grids are located in the suspended ceiling of the premises. The sucked-in air is lead by the ventilation grids with a box and a valve connected by a flexible air conveyor to a rectangular (circular) air conveyor. Evacuation takes place at the building’s roof through a recuperation ventilation block.

ELECTRIC INSTALLATION

LIGHTING AND STRONG CURRENT INSTALLATION

In the apartments and ateliers all consumers will be powered by an apartment switchboard. The apartment switchboard must be provided with an input automatic circuit breaker and output automatic fuses. The circuits of the hot-plates, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, kitchen sockets, and general-use sockets will be additionally provided with current-protection devices (current fault protection).

The lighting of all premises complies with the functions that will be performed.

In the offices all consumers will be powered by assembled switchboards which will power the overnight, evacuation, and advertising lighting, the overnight sockets, computer sockets, workplace general-use sockets and other general-use sockets. The workplaces will be provided with floor- or wall-mounted boxes with protected contacts supplied with protective pin – red for the computers and white for the other consumers, a telephone installation socket and a computer network socket. The lighting of all premises complies with the functions it will perform.

The shops will be provided with switchboards from which, hidden above the suspended ceilings and vertically – behind the plasterboard walls, the lighting, contact, and ventilation convector electric installation will be drawn. The shops will be provided with three types of lighting: overnight, evacuation, and advertising. The lighting of all premises complies with the functions it will perform.

The basement will be provided with a separate switchboard. The electrical installation will be implemented with protection degree IP 44. Overnight and evacuation lighting is provided. Working lighting will be switched on by motion detectors (PIR) and a contactor. Ventilation is controlled by a time relay. All lighting bodies are fire-proofed and are supplied with the appropriate certificate.

TELEPHONE INSTALLATION

At a definite place in the basement, in a separate weak-current room, telephone slugs will be assembled – for the building, located in a communication case, from which the telephone installation for the offices, shops, apartments, and ateliers will be drawn.

For the weak-current installation of each office and shop, a communication case of the RACK type will be installed. The telephone outputs will end in RJ 11 telephone sockets located 0,35m off the floor and within the floor boxes.

For the weak-current installation of each apartment or atelier, a PVC box sized 200х200х100mm will be assembled. The telephone outputs will end in RJ 11 telephone sockets located 0,35m off the floor.

STRUCTURAL CABLING

At a definite place in the basement, in a separate weak-current room, a communication weak-current case of the RACK type will be installed provided with the required equipment for in-building Internet installation, from which, through a vertical pipe network, the installation for the respective offices, shops, apartments, and ateliers will be drawn.

For the weak-current installation of each office and shop, a communication case of the RACK type will be installed. The Internet outputs will end in RJ 45 sockets located 0,35m off the floor and within the floor boxes.

For the weak-current installation of each apartment or atelier, a PVC box sized 200х200х100mm will be assembled. The Internet outputs will end in RJ 45 sockets located 0,35m off the floor.

ANTENNA INSTALLATION FOR CABLE TV

At a definite place in the basement, in a separate weak-current room, a communication weak-current case with TV amplifiers will be installed, from which, through a vertical pope network, the installation for the respective offices, shops, apartments, and ateliers will be drawn.

For the weak-current installation of each office and shop, a communication case of the RACK type will be installed. The antenna outputs will end in antenna sockets located 0,35m off the floor and within the floor boxes.

For the weak-current installation of each apartment or atelier, a PVC box sized 200х200х100mm will be assembled. The antenna outputs will end in antenna sockets located 0,35m off the floor.

DOOR BELL INTERCOM SYSTEM

On the main switchboard of the building, power-supply blocks for the door bell intercom system will be assembled. It will be accommodated within corrugated PVC pipes laid vertically in a special construction groove. Next to the entrance doors of the offices, apartments and ateliers, door bell buttons will be assembled, and in each office, apartment or atelier, above the entrance door, a door bell and an intercom phone receiver will be assembled. Each doorbell receiver will be connected to the intercom switchboard with intercom speakers and doorbells located at the building’s entrance.

Each intercom receiver will be provided with an in-built buzzer, which buzzes in a different way depending on where the call comes from – the entrance door of the building or the entrance door of the office, apartment or atelier.

SECURITY ALARM INSTALLATION

Each shop, office, apartment or atelier will be supplied with cables for the assembly of a security alarm installation connected to a 24x7 security guard. The assembly of the equipment will be made by the security firm on signing individual contracts with them.

MEASUREMENT

Each shop, office, apartment or atelier will be supplied with assembled individual remotely sensed devices providing to optimize consumption – a heat meter, a water meter, and an electrometer.

LIGHTNING PROTECTION INSTALLATION

The building is of the III lightning protection class. To prevent direct or indirect lightning hits on the building, a lightning protection installation will be assembled.

The roof’s specific features and the great number of tall machines and equipment assembled on it do not justify the use of conventional lightning protection. Therefore, active lightning protection with advance activation has been designed.

GROUNDING INSTALLATION

All contacts of the shops, offices, apartments, ateliers, garages, as well as all bodies of the engines, boilers, pumps, electric convectors, ventilators and the whole technological equipment of the building will be connected to the grounding installation.