Neuwiesen Estate, Zurich - 2nd Prize

Life on the rooftops: 

"We imagine coming home in the evening by bike across the overland park. We park the bike on the roof, climb the stairs in the light of the late sun and collect our children who are playing there. Maybe the lettuce in the raised bed is already ready for harvesting? A quick chat as we walk past the laundry room, then we reach our stairwell and the apartment."

The city of Zurich is becoming denser and hotter, and nowhere will this be more noticeable than in the "greened urban body" at the edges of the settlement area, where the great densification is still pending. At first glance, it may seem contradictory that densification does not have to mean "stress of density," "less air to breathe," or "concreting over living space," but can be an opportunity for a greener, cooler, more life-friendly city. But it is possible. In order for the overland park to fulfill the promise it carries - to be a connecting, communicative, attractive element in the city - it must be given the greatest possible importance: It must be declared a unique opportunity for those who will live here. The new houses bow, as it were, to the overland park. They slope down so far that they are at the same height and of similar width, so that the bridging becomes as effortless and inviting as possible. Instead of extending the second urban level of the overland park inside the houses (where its animation and appropriation is doubtful), it is transferred to the rising roof level of the houses. The shape of the building, which develops from a broadly supported plinth to a towering slice, already provides for a great variety of residential "characters". Where the building is at its lowest, the apartments are arranged around wide living halls that unite living and dining areas. In the central areas, living and dining are related to each other by a spatial waist, and at the narrow ends of the building facing Überlandstrasse, the apartments reach a spectacular longitudinal extension of 20m, which gives them a loft-like character.