Hurst Song Architekten
Apartment building in Untervaz
best architects 23
multi-family homes
Place
Untervaz, Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Hannes Henz
Description
In the Rhine Valley beneath the Calanda Massif, the
new apartment building stands in the centre of Untervaz, on the site of a
former dairy. The building is intended to revitalise the village centre through
a house that fits into the dense fabric of the village. Existing building lines
are continued and clearly define the street space. Thanks to direct access to
the underground carpark via the driveway of a neighbouring building, traffic
around the house is minimised. A quiet, attractive courtyard has been created,
which shapes the immediate surroundings as a green outdoor space. The loggias,
conceived as a semi-public room, face the street, promoting informal social
contact. Eight apartments are directly accessible from Hintergasse via a
centrally lit staircase. With clearly structured floor plans and generous
living spaces, the apartments are oriented in at least two directions and are divided
into a day and night area. The exterior walls of single-stone masonry are designed
as a perforated façade with floor-to-ceiling windows and railings of galvanised
expanded metal. A homogeneous appearance is created by a very coarse-grained
exterior render whose trowel application lends the surface a special optical
depth. Depending on the incidence of sunlight, a strongly iridescent effect is
created, additionally accentuated by the embellishing dark paint and dry brush
technique. The pronounced plinth of bush-hammered in-situ concrete, together
with various other in-situ concrete components, gives the house a high
architectural value.