The competition conditions for the development of this site at the centre of Altstetten, a district of Zurich, required the construction of 42 owner-occupied dwellings as well as 52 sheltered homes for the SAW foundation, an organization that supports housing for the elderly. The three parties involved – the municipal building authorities, the SAW foundation and a private developer – had agreed on an unbureaucratic and innovative approach, but this was possible only with a reorganization of the site area. The municipal land originally lay between two plots belonging to the developer, so that a single, overall scheme seemed the best solution – a solution that also allowed the integration of the neighbouring Krone restaurant, which is a listed building.
The architects seized the opportunity of creating a unified design for the ensemble of owner-occupied dwellings and subsidized sheltered housing, so that the development would have a single, powerful identity. At the same time, they articulated it in such a way that the individual tracts retain a certain autonomy. The housing for senior citizens, with communal spaces, has a clear and simple form that seems entirely convincing and that lends the ensemble a quite noble expression. In part, this is the outcome of the unusual design of the spacious access balconies and the careful choice of materials and types of rendering.
The architects seized the opportunity of creating a unified design for the ensemble of owner-occupied dwellings and subsidized sheltered housing, so that the development would have a single, powerful identity. At the same time, they articulated it in such a way that the individual tracts retain a certain autonomy. The housing for senior citizens, with communal spaces, has a clear and simple form that seems entirely convincing and that lends the ensemble a quite noble expression. In part, this is the outcome of the unusual design of the spacious access balconies and the careful choice of materials and types of rendering.