Residential building, Uetikon am See | Switzerland
Vandaag, 00:00
Project: Residential building, Uetikon am See // Switzerland
Architect: Architekturfabrik 21 AG, Stäfa // Switzerland
Fabricator: Gadola Fassaden AG, Riedikon // Switzerland
Façade system: Riveted/Screwed
Year of construction: 2023
Product: ALUCOBOND® PLUS terra Pyrite
Photos: Allega GmbH
GOLDEN OUTLOOKS
Uetikon am See, a town on the eastern shores of Lake Zurich, is a highly attractive place to live thanks to its location on the sunny ‘Gold Coast’ and within the Zurich catchment area. Tramstrasse in Uetikon where two blocks of flats, comprising a total of 15 rental flats, have been built side by side on a gently sloping plot, is a similarly appealing site. The exterior of both buildings is characterised by a series of projections and recesses and top storeys of a smaller format. Facing away from the street, there are numerous balconies and roof terraces. The real eyecatcher, however, is the façade surface which, viewed from a distance, resembles a fine-grained mineral. This is thanks to the use of ALUCOBOND® terra façade elements. In the colour ‘Pyrite’, these large-format panels clad the whole of both buildings and create uniformity and visual consistency for the differing heights: the larger block contains nine flats, the smaller one just six. The range of flat size varies from three and a half to five and a half rooms and between 97 and 174 square metres approximately. Most flats have four and a half rooms, and only one of the four smaller flats is under 100 square metres. Both of the largest sized flats sit loftily at the very top of the building. Meanwhile, concealed below ground, there are underground parking spaces for 30 cars and four motorbikes, a bicycle storage room and a dedicated laundry area in the private basements.
The finish for the interior fittings is a standard more commonly associated with owner-occupied flats, including photovoltaic technology and energy generation for self-consumption. Equipped with a lift, two bathrooms in every flat, high-quality materials and spacious outdoor space and open living/dining areas the development seems to focus on people who have high expectations when it comes to space. Architekturfabrik21 AG’s Architect Michael Willers calls it ‘comfortable living’, and aims to convey a ‘sense of space and openness’. In keeping with these high standards, the façade also plays a special role and is given the scope to create maximum impact: dark window frames, external Venetian blinds and delicate balustrades blend into the minimalist colour palette, as do the bronze hued downpipes. And depending on the way the light falls, the exterior cladding mutates from dark to golden, giving the two buildings a perpetually changing appearance.