Description

A building slab located on the boundary between two very different urban areas: on one side, a street followed by an elevated highway and interregional railway line; on the other side, a townhouse district with an adjacent public park. The building has been pushed right up to the edge of the street to leave as much space as possible on the more attractive side overlooking the park. Each standard floor contains alternating 3- and 4-room apartments, with the stairwell occupying the space of what would be the fourth room in the smaller units. The interiors are characterized by a pronounced shift in direction: one enters into an elongated space with kitchen and dining area parallel to the street.

At a right angle, a narrow passage leads from this space to the generously proportioned living room overlooking the park on the other side. This is where the large balcony is located, onto which the bedrooms also open. The result is a surprising diagonal relationship between the two shared living areas, connected via the small passage. The private spaces, which surround and shape this shared open area, are preceded by a separate hallway with bathroom. The building was partially lowered on the park side to accommodate apartments that are oriented toward one side only and hobby/recreation rooms in the basement. The polygonal shape of the balconies invests the garden facade with an undulating movement, which is continued – in a more restrained fashion – on the street side.

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