In the competition entry, which was awarded first place, the cooperative housing development is understood as a transparent world of housing. A lane-like access space that has an urban feeling, and generously sized facade openings facilitate communication between residents.

Chrüzächer, Regensdorf, Fischer Architekten AG Zürich

The site is in Regensdorf, near Zurich, a community with an urban character. It is surrounded by a housing block, sports fields, Pöschwies prison, and a collection of single-family houses that extends eastwards to the nearby woodland.

Within these heterogeneous surroundings a place for identification was to be defined – based on the overall concept of dividing the site into three building plots or development areas, so that the project could be realised in stages. The project is viewed as a central settlement element that gives an order to the dispersed pattern and that will be able to assert itself, even if the concept of the settlement behind it is quite different.

The main and the ancillary volumes of this new development form a row that is oriented north-west and, arranged along a lane-like circulation space, create a residential street with an urban character. The shared bike parking areas and a sheltered communal area are also integrated in this sequence of public spaces. The surroundings of the housing are understood as a space for communication, which explains why the facade to the lane has generously sized openings that create a somewhat “Dutch” feeling.