Boltshauser Architekten
Residential Tower Hirzenbach
best architects 18 in Gold
multi-family homes
Place
Zurich / Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Kuster Frey
Description
The new apartment tower and the one-storey commercial building formally represent the existing urban typology of low-lying public functions and high-rising housing blocks. However, the unique interior spatial organisation of the apartments, which is expressed in the façade, sets this building apart from its modernist urban environment.
The 12-storey building height presented the potential for a spatial concept to be generated through its section: The targeted mix of typologies – from two-storey duplex apartments, requiring a definitive structural grid, to single-storey lofts seeking structural flexibility – led to the choice of a spanning plate structural system. The bridge-like structural solution fulfils the varied spatial requirements of the apartment typologies and makes them legible on the façade. The duplex apartments are distinguished by the inclusion of double-height spaces and a floor layout that encompasses the full building depth. In contrast, the loft apartments celebrate the idea of open space. Here, sliding walls and functional cores are the room-dividing elements. The enveloping balconies carved out of the building volume visually extend the interior out into the surrounding landscape.
boltshauser architekten
Since 1996, Roger Boltshauser is managing the architectural office Boltshauser Architekten AG in Zurich. At the moment, a team of around 60 employees is working on projects in all phases of execution. The implemented projects in the field of education, residential and administrative buildings are characterized by strong, block-like settlements with a high spatial and material density.