EMI Architekt*innen Edelaar Mosayebi Inderbitzin

Description

Unlike other neighbourhoods that have been incorporated into the city of Zurich, Witikon has not been developed according to urban planning principles but has instead grown more like a suburban community. Period-typical residential developments have clustered around the old centres, and street development has followed an additive approach, resulting in a lack of order. The common denominator is an open configuration with many green spaces. This spatial quality changes with increasing density. The Buchholzstrasse residential development mediates between the existing buildings and a future urban form. It is based on a chain of eight houses and creates a complex, large-scale structure. Expansive both internally and toward the street, the ensemble forms a balanced composition of enclosed and open space. A large number of tree plantings are part of this composition. The eight houses with their rhombus-shaped floor plans share a common layout. The living spaces are situated peripherally at the four corners of the rhombus. With ribbon windows on both sides, they are bright, offer connections to the interior as well as to the neighbourhood, and thereby create a living environment with a strong connection to the outdoors — as if living on a «terrace among the trees».