Landolt Areal

A good example of this is Landolt Areal on Brandschenkstrasse. For 170 years, the famous Landolt winery produced the noble drink and traded in wine here. Located between the Alfred Escher tunnel and the Sihltal-Zurich-Uetliberg (SZU) railway, Brandschenkstrasse and Sihlhölzli is a development area distinguished both by its street and local traffic and its vicinity to urban green spaces. Its close proximity to the centre of Zurich is also a decisive advantage of this location, with numerous shopping options and diverse gastronomy ideally complementing the offer.

It is thus not surprising that this land plot currently accommodates high-quality flats that act almost like a link between the vibrant city and the beginning of the suburbs. Arguna AG, the owner of this 5,800 square metre plot, issued a tender for a study contract that was won by Bünzli & Courvoisier Architekten, which completed the task. The project comprises seven individual building structures extending between Brandschenkstrasse and the SZU rail line. The geometry and arrangement of the building structures are based on a general form that is between block perimeter development and villa typology.

Thus, a high construction density has been achieved, interleaving it with outdoor spaces by using the remaining free areas. Additionally, this means that every room is illuminated by natural light, and the buildings shield the courtyard-like free areas from noise emanating from the street and nearby trains. The entrances are located along Brandschenkstrasse, with open entrance halls that resemble the courtyards of old city palaces. On the other side of the building, there are courtyards with carefully designed green areas.

In the surface finish of the glazed concrete, there is a circumferential smooth structure and slightly recessed, tumbled fillings. Thus, the façade is partitioned, gaining more depth; this effect is strengthened by the wood-panelled loggias and dark wood-and-metal windows.

On the inside, the 52 condominiums impress with their spacious floor plans. High-quality materials were selected for their construction. Thus, in addition to the classic white walls, the flats have natural stone and wood. The architects chose Bauwerk parquet for the floors. Practical Cleverpark planks were used in their light Farina Oak and dark Smoked Oak variants. Due to the different variants of interior design, the parquet floor was not the same in all the flats; instead, the most suitable one was selected in each case.

Both products were provided with an HDF base. This highly stable wooden material has a distinctly high durability and is guaranteed to be suitable for healthy living. The use of such healthy products is particularly useful in such city districts with high emissions like Landolt Areal.

Overall, a coherent development was created, skilfully taking over the boundary between the city’s green spaces and traffic axes, as well as between city life and a place of retreat.