Stacked rowhouses
Schweighof development, Kriens, Switzerland, 2012–2018
We were lucky. The client and the experts of the prize committee finally fell in love with three houses that offered maximum spatial and typological diversity. The two detached houses ("dot houses") are equipped with vertically structured facades in order to visually stretch them upwards. The attic floor shows airspaces which, like the periscope of a submarine, reach up from the last full floor and capture zenithal light.
The rest of the attic floor is filled with interior patios. The lower apartments have a higher room height – as compensation.
In the longhouse we stack row houses in two plus two floors above each other. The lower package has garden access, the upper package has two-storey interiors and loggias. The house is accessed directly from the ground floor or via a pergola, which stimulates communication between the neighbourhoods.
Address
Schweighofplatz 3, Schweighofstrasse 8-12, Schweighofweg 14, in 6010 Kriens, Switzerland
Study contract 2012, planning and execution 2013–2018
Builder/ client
SUVA, Lucerne
Spatial program
133 apartments, common room
Architecture
Patrick Gmür, Michael Geschwentner
Project team
Susan Held (project management), Laura Bissegger (deputy pm), Roman Birrer, Michal Bzdziuch, Gabriel Gmür, Safia Hachemi, Sabina Kickhofel, Manca Starman, Jan Zangerl, Jing Zhao, Annick Zucchetti, Peter Roesch