In our design, we had to deal with two particular problems that were special to this procedure: The development of the adjacent site was still unknown at the time, and many regulations and handicaps restricted the design. And it was just this that influenced our intentions: we wanted to create a “whole house” that would make people forget restrictions and convey just the peace that enabled it to conduct a dialog with other houses.
The starting point of the project was a continuous development of the three usage units: shops/studios, offices and apartments starting from the basements, which permit the three units to function independently. This functional autonomy is confronted by the intention to create a uniform architecture for the usage groups by means of statics and façade as components of a superior building structure. We thus placed the design in the tradition of large metropolitan buildings such as those in Italy, Spain or the USA, whose hybrid usage appears only in nuances in the building: the framework is a general urban principle equivalent to the curtain wall.
The frame, of coloured, acidified concrete, incorporates both the regular windows and a double casement window in the case of increased acoustic requirements. The relief with the slight infold softens and lightens the element and at the same time produces a slight “spin” her, which emphasises the difference between the façade levels and the usages behind them.
In most cases, the apartments dispense with a strict day-night usage division and aim for the widest possible inner diagonal spatial reference in order to achieve a feeling for space even in the smallest apartments. In the very deep building (A5), an external walkway was planned for the top floor with attached, protected courtyards that give the smaller apartments a second source of lighting and improved noise protection. The other apartments are either corner apartments or stretch from front to rear for optimum light and noise prevention.
