Njirić+ arhitekti Partners Complete Contrasting Croatian Houses in Zagreb

Hrvoje Njirić and Iskra Filipović, partners at Zagreb firm Njirić+ arhitekti, have each completed a private residence in Croatia, showcasing the studio's varied typological and theoretical approach. Njirić's Double-Villa Bukovac, shortlisted for this year's EU Mies Awards, is a deliberate critique of Zagreb's General Urban Development Plan. The house contains two attached dwellings totaling 180 sqm on a 1,200 sqm lot, undercutting the allowable maximum built space of 600 sqm. Its linear plan spans two adjacent lots, with a perforated brick street façade and a glazed garden façade. The design draws on influences from Palladio, the Eames House and Studio, Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia, and the American Case Study House programme. It includes a subterranean garage that doubles as a private art gallery and party venue. Filipović's residence at 140 Petrova Street adds a new lightweight prefabricated steel volume with twin sawtooth roofs atop an existing building, preserving the original structure and mature trees. The addition is metal-clad and distinct from the building below, with high-pitched ceilings and new openings aligned to predefined views and light paths. Both projects challenge conventional building practices—Double-Villa Bukovac in the suburban context and Petrova 140 as a riposte to unthinking redevelopment. The houses were recently completed and photographed by Bosnic+Dorotic.