Description

The first housing island, called “Kilchberg,” is located in the park of a former estate. The architects were able to change the original plan for developing the entire open space with single-family homes into targeted densification with a total of six housing islands. The stunning vista of Lake Zurich and the Alps combined with proximity to the city suggested that this would be an ideal site for upscale apartments.

The Housing Island I is introverted in nature. Three simple buildings are grouped around an interior courtyard. Two of the volumes contain flats, one is composed of row houses. The plinth story that connects the building houses contains parking places with direct access to the buildings. Above this level: the artificial courtyard with building entrances. In addition to paving and trees, the courtyard space is above all divided by gazebos constructed from boarding, which provide a semiprivate outside seating area for each house.

The generous floor plans are oriented towards three directions. The rooms are ar­ranged around a core with two bathrooms, which acts as a shield in front of the bedrooms. Kitchen and dining area overlook the courtyard, while private rooms and living room fronted by a winter garden benefit from a view of the park. The room proportions in combination with the sliding doors give the floor plan a strong character of flexibility. Across the facade, the floor-to-ceiling windows are distributed in such a free manner that even identical floor plans present an individual and different face on the outside. Thus, the window arrangement echoes the arrangement, on a larger scale, of the housing islands, which are scattered across the park like pavilions.

---

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