Laid out in two rows and offset to each other, the structures take account of surrounding developments, yet have a strong character of their own through the external spaces and their relationship to the blocks. Seen in the longitudinal direction, the buildings convey an impression of urban density, whereas from the side they afford a view of landscaped open areas flanked on three edges by housing blocks that are open to the surroundings.
The structures themselves, with their identical form, and the communal external areas all seem to be part of an unhierarchical open layout. This impression is reinforced by the fact that there are no private outdoor areas and no dwellings on the entrance level. Located here instead are facilities for storing bicycles and prams, hobby and drying rooms and ancillary spaces, as well as large entrance halls, which were designed acoustically to accommodate occasional internal events and celebrations.
A peripheral glass strip allows the ingress of natural light to these areas and to parts of the garage space beneath the blocks. The four storeys of housing are set on top of a slightly recessed plinth.
Special features of the project are the mixture of dwellings of different sizes and the tenant structure. With an average area of roughly 100 m², the flats comply with the requirements of the housing cooperatives and the city of Zurich and reflect current expectations on the market. Although the dwellings were not foreseen for any specific group, no group was to be excluded, regardless of age or marital status. A further requirement was compliance with the rules of construction for disabled people, and these have been met without any reservation.
One condition for accommodating a broad range of tenants is the creation of similarly dimensioned rooms with identical installations. As well as avoiding horizontal and vertical barriers, the development offers many generous features, such as bathtubs with lower edges, more accessible light switches and electrical sockets, non-slip tiles, electrically operated sunshading installations, ovens at a higher level, and room-height glazed doors that allow an unimpeded view out of the window even for people confined to bed. A further condition for accommodating a broad cross-section of tenants is to create dwellings with almost identically dimensioned and technically equipped rooms. Apart from the large living-dining spaces, most rooms have no predetermined use. In addition, each of them enjoys individual access to the balcony.
The mix of generations within the development is reflected most clearly in the provision of a kindergarten with two groups, and a care group for up to six senior citizens – both situated on the first floor. The kindergarten was required by the city in the competition brief, because provisional facilities of this kind had existed on the site prior to construction. The wish for a care group was articulated by the building cooperatives during the planning phase. This seemed sensible in view of the fact that there is a large municipal care centre nearby, the services of which can also be used by residents of the present development. Two of the four dwellings on one floor were, therefore, joined to accommodate a care group, and various other adaptations were made to the sanitary facilities to meet the needs of disabled people.
The fact that the two housing cooperatives have been awarded a prize by the Swiss “age foundation” is not primarily attributable to these measures, however. The prize, amounting to SFr. 250,000, was the outcome of a search for housing developments that offer a good location, a lack of barriers, security, good scope of orientation and identification, a high degree of dwelling comfort and a good mix of tenants of all ages. The Steinacker estate in Zurich may therefore be seen as an exemplary response to the demographic changes taking place in society.
