Description

Urban context

The Eichgut residential complex is located in the center of Winterthur, directly
behind the main train station in the Neuwiesen district, which is characterized
by a lively mixture of technical universities, commercial uses, stores, and
residences. In these urban surroundings with a wide variety of building types,
this meandering seven-story building occupies the southern edge of a built area
and is surrounded by streets on three sides. This striking solitary building
creates an urban-planning focus in the Eichgut area.

Ground-floor zone

The hard planes of a city determine the exterior space of this residential and
commercial building, which forms various transitional spaces on the different
sides. Facing north, away from the streets of the neighborhood, the meandering
complex forms an open courtyard. A small green space invites lingering. The four
entrances to the building are found here, organized in pairs, and with the help
of two rue intérieurs they distribute traffic to six access stairwells. The
entire area of the building has stores and offices on the pedestrian level. An
indentation in the building to the south creates a plaza, which is planted with
trees and is oriented toward a restaurant located on the ground floor.

Building structure

The six upper stories house ninety apartments, most of which are accessed
directly by elevator. Most of the units extend the full depth of the building
and produce introverted worlds with a depth of up to twenty-seven meters. Open,
flowing spatial sequences organized around open secondary spatial zones result
in most cases in circular paths. Sliding doors permit flexible design of the
space. The transition to the outside is provided by deep loggias. The facades
recede on the top two floors. Those apartments thus have roof terraces in front
of them.

Facade

The homogeneous facade unites the residential and commercial complex from top to
bottom in a consistent large form. The volume is covered with a shell of printed
glass panels that produce bands by floor. Although it seems opaque when seen
from outside, this glass is surprisingly transparent from inside. The delicate
printing functions like a light curtain. As the outer layer of the double facade
they shield the apartments from the neighboring railroad line. At the same time
the silkscreen panels with a perforated metal pattern act as sunscreens.
Residents can move the sliding elements in front of the windows and loggias,
with the result that the look of the facade is constantly changing. Views in and
out can be controlled individually.

---

Originally published in: Ulrike Wietzorrek, Housing+: On Thresholds, Transitions, and Transparencies, Birkhäuser, 2014.