Description
Despite its location between a train station and village center, this mixed residential and commercial ensemble is molded by the landscape. It consists of two linear slab blocks and a solitary building nestled into the sloped, meadow-like topography. A staircase descends from the train station to pathways leading to the building entrances. One of the paths pierces the long slab, continuing on eastward towards the village.
In the flats in the long slab (Building
a
), the enclosed rooms and an inserted core define the boundaries for an open but subtly zoned living area. The lengthwise orientation of the staircase, the position of the bathroom core, and the arrangement of the individual rooms and loggia create an open sequence of rooms offset to one another – with a large hallway, living and dining areas connected by the kitchen, and an additional room which can be opened by a sliding door.
On the top floors of the solitary building (Building
c
) recessed into the slope, the apartments are arranged around one of the building’s corners or open to three sides and laid out in a similar fashion. Between the inserted core and the encompassing walls, a corridor, foyer, kitchen, and two living spaces are formed. The open corners of the core, created by bundling two bathrooms and a storage closet, help to mark the boundaries of the different areas without inhibiting the open and flowing space.
Within the shorter slab (Building
b
), a central corridor leads to studios on one side, duplex apartments on the other, and once more flats with inserted cores at either end.
Drawings
Photos
Exterior view looking south through the ensemble
Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider with Eric Zapel (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fifth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2018.