Description

Despite the great urban density, most of the units in the Maiden Lane Estate feature individual entrances located at ground level or along the raised access roads, sheltered private open spaces and fairly generous, always deep floor plans lit from two sides, although the grid is only 4 m wide. The architects followed the model of the Halen development designed by the architects from Atelier 5. Similar to that model, the terraced site is utilized and manipulated to create different access levels for the pedestrian routes, to shift parking traffic onto another level and to endow the housing units with a high degree of privacy. To this end, similar row-house types, flats, and stacked maisonettes are linked in a specifically urban manner. The narrow row-house units (building 
b
) are accessed via a courtyard-like and sheltered front garden. The bedrooms are located on this ground level and both are directly linked to a private open space of their own: the bedroom at the rear overlooks a patio, which is connected to the very large terrace on the upper floor via a steep set of stairs. Upstairs, the internal stairs and the kitchen/dining area face towards this open space, while the living room overlooks the entrance courtyard. The 2- to 3-story maisonettes adhere to the basic layout of these apartment units. The 2-room flats complete the buildings; they have balconies on both sides and an L-shaped kitchen, inviting front-to-back living despite the narrow hallway.

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