Michael Meier und Marius Hug Architekten
Klopstock, Zurich
best architects 26
multi-family homes
Place
Zurich, Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Roman Keller
Description
The Klopstockwiese features a mighty stand of trees.
To the west of the meadow, the Sihl flows past, and to the east, ash trees as
tall as a house grow along Klopstockstrasse. Thanks to a study contract won in
2018, a new building with 25 flats and a café, ready for occupancy in 2024, has
been built here. A hundred years earlier, simple buildings for a construction
business were erected on the same site, which was rezoned in 2016. These have
now been replaced by a residential building that follows complex building lines
and whose typology is oriented towards its surroundings. Two entrance halls
connect the neighbourhood street with the courtyard and lead to the stairwells.
On the ground floor, a level jump within the flats creates a mezzanine with
living space facing the park and a high-ceilinged dining room facing the
private garden courtyard. On the standard floors, three apartments are served
by the staircase on each floor and a polygonal loggia opens out towards the ash
trees along the street. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring a view of the greenery
into the daytime area of the flats. Bathrooms, lifts and entrances are located
in the centre as the small-scale backbone of the building. Further rooms are
located on the courtyard side, which can also be ventilated via a loggia due to
the street noise. These create exciting spatial relationships within the flat
and emphasise the contrast between the urban courtyard side and the privileged
park side.

