Description

The new housing complex is situated on a previously undeveloped site between the centre of the village and a south-facing slope with new buildings and a panoramic view of the mountains opposite. The only structures on the site were entrances to an existing shelter and a materials yard. The competition-winning design for the new complex picks up the small-scale pattern of the surrounding buildings by dividing the apartments into two separate buildings placed between the existing buildings to form a courtyard, establishing sight lines in and out of the site.

Both buildings contain apartments for families that can be extended as required by linking them to smaller adjacent apartments. These small studios can serve as an additional separate bedroom with own bathroom, as a small apartment for teenagers or elderly members of the family, as a sublet or as an office. The family apartments all contain a spacious kitchen and dining area and an enclosed Stüva, a corner living room typical of the traditional architecture of the region. Beneath the main building, there is space for six covered parking spaces and a large utility room with direct access to the courtyard. Both of these functional spaces can be used for other purposes as required.

Inside and outside, the buildings aim to provide qualities similar to those of the typical single-family houses in the region. By assigning the courtyard and functional spaces multiple purposes, by making the apartment sizes adaptable and by adopting regionally typical architectural elements, the project creates a compact ensemble that offers an alternative to conventional housing forms. The residents can make use of the communal facilities as required as a means of temporarily extending their individual living areas.

As an attractive tourist destination, property costs in the region are excessively high. The municipality together with the local population undertook a futures workshop, which resulted in the founding of a co-op association coupled with a concept for the provision of local housing opportunities. The aim is to provide affordable housing for local residents (primarily families) and to counter sprawl and fragmentation of the village by promoting compact building initiatives on central sites.

The local municipality of Ftan provided the co-op association with a plot of land and, by means of a land planning directive, was able to raise the site utilization ratio to a level suitable for creating a sufficiently dense building arrangement.

The local municipality initiated the project and organised an invited architectural competition in 2004. Construction took place from 2008 to 2010. All the apartments were rented before completion.

The Municipality of Ftan assisted the co-op association with a low-cost loan (interest-free for the first three years, with an amortisation period starting after 15 years). The local municipality was therefore instrumental in ensuring the success of the project. Low-interest capital was also provided by the EGW Central Mortgage Bond Issuing Office for Cooperative Housing and the SVW Foundation of the Association for Swiss Cooperative Housing Developers. The co-op association’s contribution amounted to only 3% of the building costs. The remainder was financed through mortgage loans. The property is financed through rental income from the 13 apartments.

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Originally published in: Annette Becker, Laura Kienbaum, Kristien Ring, Peter Cachola Schmal, Bauen und Wohnen in Gemeinschaft / Building and Living in Communities, Birkhäuser, 2015.