2016, Altwiesen, Zurich, 1st prize

Garden city reloaded.
Altwiesen residential development, Zurich, Switzerland, 2008–2016

Against the background of an urban development inwards (not outwards), the model of the garden city needs an update. Our proposal in Zurich Schwamendingen combines row houses, typical for the area, with densely packed multi-storey houses and merges them into a new type of building.

 

The buildings are arranged along an open space (the "inner village square"), an axis that forms the backbone of the whole development. This is where all house entrances are located. The result is a neighbourhood that reveals an unusual directness by Swiss standards.

The 290 apartments offer around 78 different floor plans. Particularly at the intersections with the multi-storey houses, the row houses are surprisingly spacious. But the multi-storey houses, too, feature special apartments with large terraces and views of the landscape – thanks to the double staggering of the upper floors.

 

Address
Heerenschürlistrasse 1–9, in 8051 Zurich, Switzerland

Study contract 2007, planning and execution 2008–2016

Ownership/ builder
UBS Fund Management (Switzerland) AG, Basel

Spatial program
290 apartments, nursery school (kindergarden/ crèche), assisted living, common room

 

Architecture
Patrick Gmür, Michael Geschwentner

Project team
Susan Held (project management), Michèle Säuberli, Juliane Eppler, Gabriel Gmür, Daniel Kapr, Ana Sofia Mateus, Natalie Pomer, Tina Ringelmann, Peter Schuberth, Katharina Wyss, Peter Roesch