Faced with 10,000m2 of land running down to Lake Constance, the first objective of any client would be to maximise the lake views. The remit here on the site of the former Dornier industrial works in Lochau was to devise a redevelopment scheme that would reconcile visibility and density: create optimum views for a maximum number of apartments; offer residents as much private space as possible, engineer a well-balanced architectural solution; and – of course – achieve a level of aesthetics and construction quality in keeping with the site’s premium location.  

Thanks to the spatial planning, exterior space treatment and typology, density and visibility present no contradiction here. The six blocks are configured in an offset arrangement to achieve optimum views for the individual apartments and the block type and its variants are tailored precisely to the architectural system. The depth of the site has been consciously used to optimise sight corridors by placing the blocks end on to the lake.

Finely calibrated outdoor space
The site is organised around two pedestrian links, an access route to the south and a green space to the north. Between them, the offset arrangement of the blocks creates funnel-shaped outdoor public spaces that taper down or broaden out depending on your standpoint. This configuration creates tension and variability, giving the outdoor space its own character within the development as a whole.