Description

Access:

Access to the interior courtyard through a gap in the building with an entrance to the underground parking garage; stairwell and system of external access galleries in the exterior area of the patio; natural light.

Interior:

The patio space functions not only to provide access and light but also has features that make it appealing as a public space and, as a communal area, creates a sense of neighborhood, much like traditional Mexican vecinidades. The courtyard is thus the heart of this densely built apartment block. The apartments vary in size and are arranged around the patio, mostly as maisonettes. The diversity of space within the apartments, most of which receive natural light from two or three sides, is further heightened by open, two-story living spaces of various forms, which have interior stairs leading to the individual rooms.

Exterior space:

Private terraces adjacent to the living rooms and extending across their entire width; communal roof terrace; patio on the ground floor.

Morphology:

On a massive base of natural stone, a glass curtain wall stretches across the entire volume and unifies the individual units on the exterior. The facade on the street side consists of a matrix of glass modules of various dimensions, some of which are dyed green, which is intended to transfer the green of the surrounding vegetation to the building. The rear facade is covered by a steel structure that functions as a trellis for vines. The courtyard facades are a composition of openings of various sizes, which perforate the plaster surfaces in accordance with the function and activity of the spaces inside.

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Originally published in: Peter Ebner, Eva Herrmann, Roman Höllbacher, Markus Kuntscher, Ulrike Wietzorrek, Typology +: Innovative Residential Architecture, Birkhäuser, 2009.