The plot is located on an extremely heterogeneous environment, on a kind of turning point between Dübendorf’s industrial and retail area on its North and West sides, and a fine dwelling fabric at the South and East sides, which appears as an extension of the town center. Crucial to the plot characterization is also the busy traffic and noise of the Überlandstrasse, at its North limit, which defines a premise for the new apartment’s orientation. 

Therefore, the challenge consists on how to transform the plot into an attractive residential quarter for its dwellers, through a negotiation between the positive and the negative aspects of the area, as well as to fit the relatively dense program within the plot dimensions.

Our solution is defined by a building endowed of a strong and independent character, though interacting with its close surrounding, through its volumetry and materiality. On the North part of the building, being the main concern to address the noise factor as well as the large scale of the near constructions, we’ve established an 8 storey dynamic brick façade, where the apartment service areas and the building vertical circulation are located, complemented by a rue intérieure at the street level, whose windows dimensions as well as the brick cladding intend to allude to some of the surrounding industrial brick buildings. On the West and East façades, one can read the silhouette of a conventional house, which works as a transition element for the south part of the project. The South part, facing the calm and lowly dense Florastrasse, is strongly characterized by the three generous courtyards, which intertwine with the four “fingers” bodies and their terraced tilting rooftops, ending at a four storey height façade. 

The apartments are defined by a varied typology atmosphere. On the courtyard level are foreseen garden apartment and studios; on the tilting roof are terrace apartments and on the 7th floor the over height loft style apartments. All the apartments have attractive outer spaces facing the more gardened and quieter limit of the site, at the south side.