Wallisellenstrasse, Zürich

The planning task comprises a new building in Wallisellenstrasse (Oerlikon) with approx. 30 apartments and commercial and office space as well as the refurbishment of the old building in Schaffhauserstrasse. The new, attached commercial and residential building picks up the theme of the existing, fragmented block edge: long, slender volumes with individual vertical accents. The slender bar with the turned-in balconies facing the courtyard reacts to the two other ends of the building and forms a playful, flowing courtyard landscape. Towards the tram depot – as a prelude to the quarter – the bar is extended to form a bent head protruding into the street space.
The eaves height and horizontal structure of the existing buildings is picked up at the connecting edge and transferred into a fine play of forward and backward moving floors. The hipped roof remains unchanged in its appearance. The materialisation and the colour spectrum of the existing buildings, the window theme and the caesuras are also taken over and reinterpreted in an appropriate manner. Two business floors with different references to the steeply sloping road form the basis. They can be divided into up to 6 units and allow different combinations. This is covered by well-structured, double-sided office and residential floors with two access cores. A generous, quiet opening grid with integrated loggias and balconies characterises the appearance towards the courtyard.