The nine-apartment house is located on the outskirts of Zurich, in the Albisrieden district, among the elongated low-rise buildings of the 1950s typical of this part of the city. The building of Hus Wüstemann and his colleagues stands out among them for its compact form. In fact, it is a "point" object in the spacious green area between the houses, which reflects the growing density of buildings in Zurich.
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zooming 1/4 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 2/4 Affordable Housing Complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 3/4 Affordable Housing Complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 4/4 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
The client, the foundation of the artist Balz Baechi and his wife Isabel (Isabel und Balz Baechi Stiftung), commissioned the architects to create a project of high quality affordable housing on a modest budget. Natural light, spacious rooms and privacy have become a priority, while technical equipment has been kept to a minimum - as interpreted by Swiss standards. The house has four apartments with two bedrooms (60 m2) and five with three bedrooms (95 m2). The rent is one of the lowest in Zurich.
The common room of each apartment is a spacious room that "flows" from one balcony to another. These balconies are separated from the interior by sliding windows, doors, which allows them to be fully opened in the warm season. They provide the dwelling with sunlight, but wooden Persianas blinds protect it from excessive heat and looks of strangers, as in Barcelona, where Gus Wüstemann Architects has one more office, along with the Zurich office.
The "topographic" quality of the interior is emphasized by concrete benches and other "built-in" elements, doors that do not reach the floor and therefore do not violate the connectivity of the space, etc. The more intimate spaces of the bedrooms are highlighted with wooden floors.
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zooming 1/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 2/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 3/9 Affordable Housing Complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 4/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 5/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 6/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 7/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 8/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 9/9 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 1/8 Affordable Housing Complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 2/8 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 3/8 Affordable Housing Complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 4/8 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 5/8 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 6/8 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 7/8 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
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zooming 8/8 Affordable housing complex for the Baechi Foundation Photo © Bruno Helbling
