Centre for the Aged, Küsnacht

Homes with a view

Our reading of the countryside and interpretation of the local building fabric of the plot have produced a well-balanced ensemble that is embedded volumetrically into the local topography and takes full advantage of the views offered by the property.

The spacious forecourt makes it both an attractive address and an excellent place to stay, whilst the atmospheric interior courtyard provides orientation and serves as a daylight lamp. The residential units are sensitively integrated into the topography, giving them individual access to a practically unspoiled park landscape. Having flexible structures, the residential units can be used as single and two-bed rooms, or combined to form apartments.

The economical energy concept combines a high degree of comfort with low energy consumption, low costs and a low consumption per unit area. Instead of high-tech, the focus is on passive measures, solar energy gains and optimally co-ordinated systems components, keeping below the targets set by the Swiss Gebäudestandard 2008 and MINERGIE-ECO.

Credits

Project competition after prequalification, 1st Prize 2009
Building sum: CHF 55 mn
Client: the Rural Community of Küsnacht
General planner: Bob Gysin Partner BGP Architekten ETH SIA BSA
Landscape architect: Rotzler Krebs Partner, Winterthur
Structural engineer: Basler + Hofmann, Zürich
Building services engineer: Amstein + Walthert, Zürich
Energy and sustainability consultant: EK Energiekonzepte, Zürich
Photos: Dominique Marc Wehrli, Winterthur