Housing Complex Zollikerstrasse

The impressive existing trees on the site of the former villa – a copper beech, a redwood, and a pine tree – influenced the architecture of the replacement buildings in several ways. The trees had an impact on the position, shape, materials, and also the colors of the new structures, calling for a specific architectural reaction to the immediate surroundings.

The new built volume is much larger than the previous building and is divided into two units. An unusually narrow space establishes a visual connection between the shady garden beneath the trees on the street side and the private garden to the west. The narrow interspace is widened and opened up by reflections in the façades’ glazed surfaces, which visually “duplicate” the garden.

Location Zurich, Switzerland

Programme Two houses, 8 owner-occupied apartments, 2 studios, underground parking 14 pitches

Competition 2005, 1st Prize

Planning/Construction 2006–2011

Client Floor Owners' Association Zollikerstrasse, Zurich

Gross Floor Area 2‘896 m2

Team GG Monica Knechtle

Site Management Agora Baumanagement, Zurich

Total Contractor Gross Generalunternehmung AG, Brugg

Landscape Architecture Hager Partner AG, Zurich

Structural Engineer Basler & Hofmann AG, Zurich

Electrical Engineer Ernst Basler + Partner AG, Zurich

Building Services Engineer Ernst Basler + Partner AG, Zurich

Building Physics Engineer IPA, Energieberatung und Bauphysik, Volketswil

Colours with Pierre André Ferrand, Geneva/ La Chaux-de-Fonds