The landscape, the forest, the garden

The landscape, the forest, the garden During the past 50 years the three neighboring communities Rudolfstetten, Berikon and Widen have grown simultaneously and therefore there are no clear political boundaries between them anymore. The forest area Isleren in between offers the common ground for the three communities through the Sports- and educational centre of Mutschellen. The new residential buildings are placed in rows with north-south orientation so as to guarantee the future inhabitants a continuous perspective towards the forest. The “head” buildings along the Islerenstrasse underline the high density of living introduced to the area but at the same time permit a hight quality private open spaces around. In the west side of the study area there is the only L-shaped building planned which in that way closes the existing, built urban texture and hosts the Kindergarten defining also one of the extremes of the main, internal horizontal axis of the new complex. On the exact opposite extreme of the area, the connection point of the Neighborhood with the new residential complex a local Cafe finds its place and creates a social, meeting point of attraction.

On the northern side the forest edge is building the transition area towards the Isleren forest. Through this zone a public path along with a playground and a grill corner and accompanied by the element of water, leads the guests as well as the inhabitants of the future residential complex to linger. On the opposite side, the southern part the residential area is limited by the quiet Islerenstrasse. Along this street on the ground floor. are distributed the communal and commercial uses of the complex. The landscape is strongly defined from the two lateral, public pedestrian streets and the main horizontal conecction that leads between the buildings to another street character the one of the pedestrian path. The materials change respectively from hard to smoother – from asphalt to fine gravel to mark this difference. All house entrances are taking their distance from the “street” spaces through a lush vegetation of climbing plants.

For the typologies of the private open spaces are introduced 5 different types, so as to create a wide variety of spaces and species. Private entrances as a filter towards the street are defined through a pre-garden area, characteristic of the urban entrances of Switzerland, Patios , slightly sunken or Terraces slightly elevated from the street level, defined by plant boxes that encourage the participation of the future inhabitants in the planting process and last the private gardens of the family houses near the forest that develop on the humid-grass-carpet limited by the water channels that accumulate and lead the water towards the drainage ponds along the forest on the north side of the plot. Fruit trees lay on top of the private gardens, intensifying the feeling of the swiss rural landscape. Mapple- Linden and Chestnut trees fill the street-spaces with their high canopy and Birch- Elm and Alder trees are a characteristic of the humid, water accumulating areas.

With Ruumfabrigg Architekten, MMXVI
Study with preselection process
Spring 2017