Taking the site of a former flat agricultural field surrounded by small farmyards and suburban villas, some 200 terraced houses and free-standing units were arranged along a slightly convex central space. The site plan was developed with Adolf Krischanitz and Otto Steidle, who each designed about a third of the units, merging them within the overall lay-out. The distribution of the low-rise houses together with the longitudinal and lateral passages were intended to underline the flatness of the site. The curving external spaces help to give specificity to the terraced houses while at the same time emphasize the unity of the scheme.
Herzog & de Meuron pursued essentially three house types. One type is an L-shaped unit that encloses a more intimate, private garden by the one an a half-storey studio wing. The lower ground floor, designated as a workshop, could be used as an additional living room. Another type is a rectangular unit that has all the services contained in a slot placed to one side together with a winding staircase, whereas the last type is organised around a single-flight stair that, with the guest WC and a store, forms a core at the upper ground floor.
The exterior finishes were originally to have been alternating vertical stripes of smooth and rough self-coloured plaster render. Later on, this idea was dropped for reasons of production technology in favour of a concept that was to have left the surfaces and materials in their own colour (unfinished external render), and Federle only permitted the coat of paint as “protection“ to balustrades and window frames. In the end all façade surfaces were painted with the colour of the bearing material, contrary to the intention of Herzog & de Meuron and the artist Federle.
Herzog & de Meuron, 1994