The house at Viktoriastrasse 4 in Zurich-Oerlikon is the last remaining building of the «Wohnkolonie Oerlikon» (Oerlikon Housing Colony) constructed in 1919. It is characterised by a simple but carefully detailed exterior design. The City of Zurich has commissioned us to renovate the building using the simplest means possible to provide long-term, high-quality, affordable living space for families of four or more.

Viktoriastrasse 4, 1924 (today only the left part of the house still exists)

The house is located between Viktoria- and Winterthurerstrasse, at an urban intersection: adjacent to the motorway and in close proximity to the tram line, it has hardly any presence in public space. The rich vegetation all around the building strongly contrasts the large-scale, dense urban environment with the quiet, private retreat directly around the house.

The two-storey masonry building with attic and basement contains two four-room apartments. With the renovation, the kitchens and bathrooms will be renovated without structural changes to the building. Windows, all plumbing and electrical installations will be replaced. Thanks to new insulation of the cellar and attic ceilings, the replacement of the old ovens by a new heating system with an air-water heat pump and the installation of a PV system, energy consumption can be reduced significantly.

The carefully designed trellises surrounding the houses and the many planting areas around them were characteristic design features of the former residential neighbourhood. To maintain and enhance the property's green character, we continued the vertical greening on the third facade and kept the sealing of external surfaces to a minimum.

All interior and exterior surfaces will be refurbished. The existing oak parquet flooring in the rooms and the clinker brick tiles in the kitchens will be preserved. Only the floor coverings in the bathrooms and toilets will be replaced. All new surfaces and elements will be matched to the existing ones in terms of material, colour and shape. This will ensure that they blend harmoniously into the historical design of the rooms and provide a fresh touch.