schoch tavli architekten

Description

The new building was conceived for the site of the Villa Rose, a late example of Hauptwil’s rich industrial past. The villa’s original park serves here as a common element for the apartments, which respond to it via the typology of a long, continuous building. This layout references a history of hydropower use in Hauptwil, for the purpose of which buildings were arranged parallel to the brook. It likewise alludes to the historic industrial buildings in the gardens of the old castle. Architecturally, the double-sided apartments connect the landscape spaces with Villa Rose’s new park. Direct entrances on the ground floor and gallery reinforce this interconnection with the park, encouraging its adoption as a communal area. It becomes a setting for play, debate or eating together. Generous balconies outline a private space while establishing the transition between landscape and the individual space of the apartments. Together with a tile roof, the south façade reacts to the topographic depression in front of it. Both the reconstructed gardener’s house and the long building are architecturally linked to Villa Rose and the park. In fact, the bare plaster architecture of the gardener’s house matches the existent villa. Similarly, the long building, despite its individuality, displays a wood structure and materiality in harmony with the ensemble. The general concept rests on a contribution to the development and strengthening of Hauptwil in a contextualised residential complex.