B. Ernesto, D. M. Manon, Jurcă Ștefan, K. Yusuf
06/2024 – Studio Prof. Francesca Belloni (Politecnico di Milano)
The “Schwellenräume” (Threshold Spaces) residential building in Zürich’s Enge suburb blends tranquility and urban life with its 170-meter curved design, serving as a sound barrier and connector between a new piazza on street level and a proposed park on the Bürgli Hill.
The residential building is located in the Enge suburb of Zürich, Switzerland, positioned between an area characterized by pronounced topography and early 20th-century individual homes, and a more densely populated zone with apartment complexes from the 1950s. In determining the building’s volumetry, we considered elements from both areas: the density of the 1950s apartment complexes and the integration of natural landscapes and topographical features from the historic residential area.
The residential building is strategically positioned between the private green space of the Bürgli hill and the bustling Bederstrasse.
With a length of 170 meters, the building’s organically curved design follows the site’s pronounced topography, acting both as a sound barrier between the noisy street and the tranquil green space, and as a connection between the new piazza it shapes along the street and the proposed public park on the opposite side. The varying heights within the apartment units reflect the topography of the site and offer diverse views of the green area and Zürich. Emphasizing the relationship between outdoor and indoor spaces, the building incorporates the “Laubengang” concept (outdoor horizontal circulation between apartments).
between street and park
to residential floors
⬤ Big Apartment
⬤ Small Apartment
⬤ Cluster Apartment
⬤ Commercial Unit
The building consists of six floors. The street level features commercial units (green), which open onto the street. Levels 2 and 3 house cluster apartments (blue), each comprising four bedrooms, a kitchen, a living area, and an additional gallery space. Levels 3 and 4 contain small apartments (yellow), accessible from the park side. The top levels, 5 and 6, contain larger apartments (red), accessible from the street side, and offering a private terrace overlooking the park on the uppermost floor.
The building consists of 28 modules, interspersed with open access pathways connecting the street to the park and private circulation within the residential areas. Each apartment module is accessible via the outdoor horizontal circulation corridors known as “Laubengang”.
