Residential Park in Birrwil

New, lake-side residential park in Birrwil, Switzerland. Besides its high functionality, it is also perfectly embedded in its environment. The building with a soberly built structure also boasts markedly characteristic looks.

Birrwil is located in the northern, German-speaking part of Switzerland. It has about a thousand residents and is situated 50 kilometres west from Zurich, directly on the west shore of the picturesque Lake Hallwil.  This narrow, north-south oriented lake is an attractive holiday destination for the lovers of water-sports and trekking. The small town expands over the hill-side terraces next to the lake and is crossed by a main road and a parallel railway line. Thanks to the proximity of big cities like Zurich, Luzern, Bern and Basel and the exceptionally high-quality infrastructure, Birrwill is becoming increasingly more popular to live in, with a growing number of real estate investments and related development plans.

The plot is situated directly on the lake side of Seetalstrasse, the main road. Our brief was to design a 20-home development, which both protects the residents from the noise of the traffic and provides an excellent panorama. Adapting to the features of the property, we planned a residential park parallel to the main road.  The light-structured terraced wings of the TT-shaped building complex look out at the lake, while its side parallel to the road acts like a protective shield against the potential disturbing noise of the traffic with its simple, more closed façade.

Regarding their structure, the two five-storey buildings are identical: on the ground floor, corresponding to sloping site, the parking spaces, storage areas and a studio-apartment are partly sunk into the ground. The three elevated levels share nearly the same layout: three apartments with 2.5-3 m wide terraces overlooking the lake. On the top level, there are two spacious apartments with exquisite terraces and a splendid view. The buildings are expected to be completed by late summer, 2019.