Initial situation
The site at Seestrasse 355-361 is located not far from Zurich city centre, between the lively centre of Wollishofen and the Saverapark on the lakeside. The noise emissions from the adjacent main traffic arteries, together with the corset of building regulations, create complex framework conditions. The aim is to create a residential townhouse that is urban but also relaxed, in keeping with the high density. Its location at the road junction makes the building appear as an eye-catching head building in the dense street space in the heart of Wollishofen.
Utilisation and modelling
A noise-reduced courtyard is created in the interior of the plot, towards which the noise-sensitive rooms are oriented. At the narrow end in the south, the courtyard opens up via an east-facing glazed garden. Along the lakeside road, the "area of increased utilisation" with 5 storeys plus parapet is exhausted; on the lakeside, the building develops in the given height profile according to the depth of the courtyard from 2 to 5 storeys plus parapet. The projecting façade elements along the lakeside road (in accordance with the bay window standard) allow the rhythm of the building and the partial southern orientation of the flats.
Spaciousness and noise-optimised floor plan design
The noise situation demands that the flats be exposed on as many sides as possible, with the less noise-sensitive rooms on the street side and the living rooms and bedrooms on the quiet courtyard side. Along the lakeside road, the kitchen, dining and living areas form a spatial continuum of slightly offset areas. The compact floor plans thus offer generous views from the city to the courtyard and, on the upper floors, to the lake. In the narrower building on the track side, the noise-sensitive rooms are also oriented towards the courtyard. But the commercial spaces at garden level along the tracks are also protected from noise by the garden wall. This allows attractive maisonette studios to be arranged here that can be used in a variety of ways.
Along the Seestrasse, shops/commercial units are arranged on the ground floor in a coherent commercial area with a ceiling height of 3.20 m, which can be used to its full depth thanks to the lighting via the commercial alley. The entrance to the underground car park is in the north of the plot. The northern access to the commercial alley is cut into the building at Seestrasse street level, so that a crossing with the access traffic is avoided.
Competition
Seestrasse
Housing
Zurich Switzerland
Landscape images between spontaneous growth and controlled nature
A sequence of differentiated landscapes is offered, which combine to form an atmospheric whole. The respective interventions appear familiar in terms of cut and proportions and take into account the needs of the future residents. The landscapes originate from autochthonous vegetation communities that specify themselves according to the site characteristics. The sequence of vegetation patterns visually and contextually binds together the entire spatial development from the lakeside road to the courtyard garden with the commercial alley to the studio gardens along the tracks.
Construction
The shell of the building is a solid construction. In the basement in contact with the ground and in the area of the structural transformation from columns to walls (ground floor to 1st floor), concrete walls and columns dominate the vertical load-bearing system. From the 2nd floor onwards, the change to masonry walls is possible.
The commercial space on the ground floor requires wall-free, spacious rooms. A support system with a grid structure serves to transfer the forces here. The arrangement respects the requirements of the neighbouring storeys: the upper storey walls, which act as linear bearings, are supported and parking in the basement remains unimpeded.
Façade concept
The façade construction is made of wooden elements. The elements allow a high degree of prefabrication, and the substructure brackets mounted in advance on the load-bearing slabs allow the façade surfaces to be closed rationally.
The opaque surfaces are constructed from vapour-proof construction panels mounted on the inside, a core insulation of rock wool panels and an external finish with a vapour-open wind barrier. The inner cladding is provided with a calcium silicate board as a moisture storage and fire protection measure.
The transparent surfaces are constructed with a wood-metal window construction and triple insulating glazing. A façade awning is provided to ensure thermal protection in summer.
The outer cladding of the opaque façade surfaces is made of thin-walled, glass fibre-reinforced, prefabricated concrete slabs. To form the linear patterns on the visible surfaces, the concrete slabs are sprayed into a negative mould. The installation of the slab cladding is ventilated from behind by means of a three-dimensionally adjustable substructure.
In order to distinguish the inner courtyard and to make it appear lighter and brighter, we propose to use translucent fibreglass instead of fibre cement panels. However, the formal design and the constructive structure remain identical.
Team:
Architect:
Studio Gugger
Landscape architect:
Maurus Schifferli Landschaftsarchitekt
Civil engineer:
ULAGA WEISS AG
Building technology:
Gartenmann Engineering AG
