Areal Giessen / Max Dudler

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Text description provided by the architects. Just like the Siedlung Halen did back then, the “urban island” on the Areal Giessen site on Lake Zurich translates the village motif into a contemporary form. Ten houses with 34 freehold ats and up to eight commercial units were built in Meilen in to- tal. Even though the design is clearly based on the countryside character of the place, its abstract, geometrical shape creates a dialectic tension with the surrounding landscape. The residential units have been arranged densely on a narrow rectangular plot, forming an island in the landscape of Lake Zurich. The residential buildings have been arranged on the plot like on a chessboard and in a staggered order, so that all ats have a view of the lake. The terraces and staircases provide a range of different vistas on the lake.