A meadow with fruit-bearing trees used to be the central place of Elsau in the Canton of Zurich. Now 80 villagers live here in 33 new apartments. The plan by Staufer & Hasler Architekten refers to the ­traditional Flarz house of the Zurich highlands – a type of farmhouse with windows oriented towards the south, the term “Flarz” originally meaning “to crouch” – and includes two compact, linear buildings situated on the knoll in the heart of the village. Together with the replacement for the old school building, they complete the village ensemble with its farmhouses and barns. A large part of the exterior greenspace was preserved for the village community.

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