The project for the site of the former children's hospital interprets the open, green block texture between Alemannengasse and Schaffhauserrheinweg with a building ensemble of four compact to 8-storey solitaires that define the public street space at its essential spatial edges, but at the same time span a permeable parking space between the quarter and the banks of the Rhine. The apartment types of the total of 86 residential units develop their dramaturgy through their main living space in an attractive corner location with private outdoor space in front. In addition, there are often apartments with recessed loggias. The loggias themselves form a continuous, self-supporting layer in front of the apartments, which serves as a 'filter'. Its depth varies depending on the orientation of the buildings and at the same time grants the residents good view and protection from view. The wooden surfaces give the apartment exteriors a tactile sensuality and create a beautiful quality of stay. The dark wood glaze covers the joints, makes the voluminous buildings appear slender and ensures even aging in all directions.
The façade elements are placed in front of the reinforced concrete structure and thus largely decoupled from the point of view of building physics. They are well protected from the weather by the cantilevered balcony ceilings. Constructive wood protection is taken into account in all respects. For example, the more weathered components such as end boards can be replaced easily and without much effort.
The vertical load transfer of the outer wall elements is transferred to the reinforced concrete ceiling on a storey-by-floor basis. The balcony slabs are placed linearly on the inside of the exterior wall elements, and on the outside they are supported by wooden columns arranged in a grid of 2.50 m. In the event of an earthquake, the loads occurring on the balconies are absorbed by the façade elements, which are designed as panes. The steel parts and the construction timbers for vertical load transfer are only assembled during construction during assembly in order to accommodate construction tolerances and deformations of the ceilings. The sustainable façades claim to create an urban wooden architecture through their tectonic logic and the homogeneous effect of truss and wall cladding, which thematizes the characteristic location on the water with its spatial transparency.
Source: Prix lignum
Photos: jessenvollenweider architektur ag, Philip Heckhausen
