Description

The long row lies on an avenue in the second row behind smaller houses. It is composed of a whole series of maisonettes stacked in pairs. The ground floor maisonettes with patio are entered from a pathway covered with a pergola the length of the building. This lies far enough away from the kitchen windows to allow the residents an additional front garden zone rather than being a potential source of disturbance. A large opening lets light and air into the underground car park, and provides car drivers with an exit into the communal garden bordering the pergola.

The upper maisonettes are reached via three stairwells, one at each end of the building and one in the middle. Here a passage links the pergola-covered path on the garden side with the path leading past the patios. A lift carries people up to the access gallery which lies somewhat unusually on the fourth floor. This enables the bedrooms of each pair of maisonettes to be placed one above the other and thus minimize noise disturbance.

The access gallery thrusts out from the main building whilst the facade withdraws behind its load-bearing structure. The latter remains as columns supporting the roof and separates the gallery into two sections: one for walking, the other for sitting. A wooden bench has already been put in place. The upper maisonette has a large roof garden; the windowed storage shed placed in the center can be used as a playroom or workroom.

---

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