BUG Residential and Office Building
[tp3] architekten ZT GmbH
Location: Linz, Austria
Year: 2016
Photographer: Mark Sengstbratl
The five-story residential and commercial building with a recessed attic and a two-story underground car park was completed at the beginning of 2016 at the corner of Bürgerstraße / Humboldtstraße in Linz. It houses a large commercial space and 27 apartments in different sizes.
The property is adjacent to the Neustadtviertel, a Gründerzeit quarter with a regular block pattern. Form and expression of the townhouse search for communication with the surrounding neighborhoods as well as for autonomy. The plot widths were transferred to the new building and its façade and continue the original rhythm. However, the basic principles of a Gründerzeit façade were translated into the present.
Because the apartments at Humboldtstraße / Bürgerstraße are oriented east- and northwards seat bay windows were applied in order to increase their quality. The seat bay windows allow insights into the street and bring light from the south at Humboldtstraße and from the west at Bürgerstraße into the apartments. Moreover, they allow to step into the façade from the inside. The seat bay windows create a strong relief in the façade and revert the familiar appearance of recessed windows. Through their staggered arrangement they introduce a creative accent into the regular rhythm of the façade. Furthermore, French balconies on the 2nd floor diversify its appearance.
All apartments have spacious terraces or balconies and are oriented to the south or to the west. They all have views towards the courtyard with a playground. The various balcony faces running over the entire width of the building create an interplay of tightness and wideness, privacy and openness.
In order to build a spatially flexible and therefore sustainable structure the building was realized with a concrete skeleton construction. The pillars were built into the façade so that static partitions were not required. Thus, the structure is sustainable while the infrastructure can respond to changing needs.