Description

The development on a triangular lot is an addition to a new shopping mall, mediating between it and the historic parcel development of the old town. The structure is based on the grid of the underground garage beneath it. Arranged in stacked segments and surrounding four patio courtyards in the manner of a comb, the structure of the development creates a multitude of different apartment types and sizes.

Despite the increasing building depth, the inserted patios ensure that natural light flows into all interiors. Each patio offers a private interstitial space between the building and the city, shared among three units. Thanks to the staggered layout, the patios also open up a vista in the direction of the square to the south.

The L-shaped apartments are laid out in different plans: as maisonettes around a private courtyard; as single-level apartments with individual access stairs from the street; or as a row of penthouse bungalows reached via a footbridge from the shopping mall and inserted roof terraces.

The floor plans reveal that all access areas, kitchens, and sanitary blocks are situated in the corner without natural light, while the living rooms and individual rooms all face towards the patio and the street across the full width of the space. An apartment tower forms the southern completion of the complex, creating a new visual accent for the urban square. In the tower, four maisonette units with lightwells along the facade and cantilevered two-story loggias on alternating sides are stacked one above the other, facing toward the cityscape.

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Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.