Housing Towers in Constance

Access to the 12 low-cost maisonette flats in two offset blocks is via separate open staircases and galleries. The towers are linked by planted bridges. In the absence of a basement, the blocks are raised above the ground, with the ground floor area providing space for parking, services and storage. The simple steel structure facilitated the erection of the towers in a low-energy form of construction in only six months. All internal and external walls are in a non-structural dry construction. Steel beams, columns and wind-bracing elements are housed in the cross-walls. The only stiffening in the longitudinal direction is provided by the vertical external wind-bracing structures that transmit the loads from the end walls to the ground.