Project Competition Building Sectors O3 | U3

ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY

The Holliger quarter is developed on the site of a former waste incineration plant in Bern. Six buildings form a new ensemble around a common courtyard which sits on the level between Warmbächliweg and Güterstrasse.
The first building, “U3”, consists of a 30m high volume and public uses on the ground floor, establishing an address to the quarter from Freiburgstrasse. Acting as a hinge, the building leads from the quarter’s square to the raised residential courtyard. The exterior public space is defined through the encompassing façade and entrances, while offering its residents a common intimate inner garden. Meanwhile the second building, “O3”, mediates between Güterstrasse and the quarter’s courtyard. The strong frontal orientation of the building offers clear addressing towards both levels – along the street and in the quarter’s courtyard. Granularity and sensitivity of scale is achieved through entrance niches towards the street and a horizontal volumetric layering towards the courtyard. The kindergarten becomes integrated into the landscape generating a protected and clearly assigned outdoor green area.

LANDSCAPE

After the completion of the entire Holliger quarter, the densely built-up area will become part of the open space network of the greater neighbourhood – the Bremgarten cemetery recreation area, the family garden area, the directly adjacent green area of the sports facilities in the west and the open track field in the north. The proposal is anchored within the neighbourhood by its clear structure and linked by its continuous paths. Within the new development structure, high-quality open spaces are of central importance for the quality of living and withstand the frequency of daily residential use. The centre and core of the neighbourhood is formed by the quarter’s courtyard with its open creek, establishing the connection to the quarter’s square in the south. Community life requires a variety of open space structures in a confined space, which, due to the high density, is extended to the inner garden and intensively greened terraces and roof areas.

HOUSING AND INDUSTRY

“Enjoy the collective.” The two buildings offer very efficient floor plans with bright, optimally organised open-plan apartments. The private spaces are supplemented with generous community functions – courtyard, landscape terraces, roof terrace, entrance hall, café and other quarter functions. Transitions between public, shared and private spaces are carefully formulated in a way to ensure a feeling of security, belonging and spatial clarity. Moreover, O3 is characterised by flexible-system floor plans, which allows a wide variety of apartment sizes, mixes and set-ups and can also be easily adapted during planning or future renovation. Despite the qualitative spatial and architectural expression, the buildings function as efficient “architectural machines” with moments of surprising generosity that correspond to the industrial past of the place.