The small apartment complex is the answer given by Karamuk Kuo to the client's request that he wanted an increase in density of the project in response to the increase in house prices (steadily in recent years), in the that the canton of Zurich is one of the areas with the highest price increases in Switzerland.
The client who inherited the property wanted to incorporate affordable units in this exclusive neighborhood. Intended to be rented separately, the five units are spread across three different floors.
"From a small loft to a four-bedroom apartment, the flats drastically vary in size and use and are tailored to a range of needs and income diversities, creating a threshold for ‘those who are underserved in the community."
Jeanette Kuo
Project description by Karamuk Kuo
On the slopes just outside of Zurich, in an affluent neighborhood of single family homes, a client with an inherited property has a vision. Rather than adhere to common practice and contribute not only to ongoing sprawl but also to the shortage of affordable housing, he dreams of building a small tight knit community of multi-generational tenants on his single lot. Preferencing smaller and therefore more affordable units, the building is composed of five radically different unit types housed under the guise of a single mega villa – a stealth density that evades the prejudices of neighbors.
A gable roof allows the form to fit into the context while its ridge radically follows the slope of the terrain, maximizing buildable volume in a dumb replica of the zoning diagram. At the same time, an exaggerated eave cantilevering towards the south gives the building its distinctive character and a sheltered outdoor space for the garden unit.
Inside, the floors step with the landscape in a series of split levels that give spatial richness to the apartments. Each apartment has a private outdoor space while a variety of window types offer different relationships to the surroundings and at the same time mask the scale of the building.
