Büro Konstrukt

Description

The client’s intention was to establish a meeting place in the neighbourhood with new small flats, a community hall and shops. This brief required an urban planning approach that would lend the new building the radiance of a focal point. A striking four-storey building – slightly set back from the row of houses – occupies the corner of the street as a solitary accent. The concentration of the building mass creates attractive, differentiated outdoor spaces, which are conveyed by urban motifs such as piazza, arcade and courtyard. These elements give rise to a town-centre building with a strong identity, which manifests itself architecturally in relation to the neighbourhood as well as in the interior. At each corner, the building has volumetric setbacks that break the externally perceptible dimension down to a scale tailored to the neighbourhood. Inside there is a surprisingly large and open residential and access courtyard. This is symbolic of the Catholic Church of Lucerne’s intention to offer places and spaces that create opportunities for people to meet. The chosen typology of the courtyard building creates optimal conditions for communal living. All the flats and the neighbourhood meeting place benefit from the strong community-oriented identity of the courtyard.