The client who inherited the property wanted to incorporate affordable units in this exclusive neighborhood. Intended to be rented separately, the five units are spread across three different floors.
Project description by Karamuk Kuo
On the slopes just outside of Zurich, in an affluent neighborhood of single family homes, a client with an inherited property has a vision. Rather than adhere to common practice and contribute not only to ongoing sprawl but also to the shortage of affordable housing, he dreams of building a small tight knit community of multi-generational tenants on his single lot. Preferencing smaller and therefore more affordable units, the building is composed of five radically different unit types housed under the guise of a single mega villa – a stealth density that evades the prejudices of neighbors.
A gable roof allows the form to fit into the context while its ridge radically follows the slope of the terrain, maximizing buildable volume in a dumb replica of the zoning diagram. At the same time, an exaggerated eave cantilevering towards the south gives the building its distinctive character and a sheltered outdoor space for the garden unit.
Inside, the floors step with the landscape in a series of split levels that give spatial richness to the apartments. Each apartment has a private outdoor space while a variety of window types offer different relationships to the surroundings and at the same time mask the scale of the building.
