The new apartment buildings are designed as a pair, facing towards each other across Gutstrasse. Like the artist duo Gilbert & George, the buildings are dressed almost identically, their external appearance formed from variations of the same elements.

On the south side of the street, a ten-storey building is preceded by a slim pavilion housing the cooperative’s offices. To its rear, a south-facing communal garden is surrounded by a shady roof, giving it the character of a ‘Hortus Conclusus’.

A slightly lower building fronts onto the north side of Gutstrasse, and is connected at the rear to a single storey pavilion that contains the kindergarten. The new ensemble creates a positive relationship with the surrounding listed buildings, which include a high-rise and shop designed by Karl Egender.

Sustainability and longevity inform the construction method and material. The buildings are timber structured, with in-situ concrete stair cores. The façades of the residential buildings are clad with scalloped panels of coloured fibre cement, with ground-floor façades and the offices and kindergarten made in painted wood.

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