Building Social Ecology

Hunziker Areal: captivates with new forms of housing and the range of leisure facilities. It is committed
to the vision of the 2000-watt society.

At Zurich’s Hunziker Areal (also known as “mehr als wohnen”)  450 flats, various shops and restaurants, studios, workplaces, a child care centre and a guesthouse were realized on a former industrial site in urban density. The building complex was developed within a dialog process in cooperation with architects and the cooperative mehr als wohnen. The focus is on the combination of privacy and a diverse community offering. This is also reflected at the structural level through the interlocking of communal spaces and private areas, for example in the form of cluster apartments. 13 six-storey buildings have been created, with the majority consisting of a solid construction with composite thermal insulation. One building was constructed in a monolithic insulating concrete structure and serves for research purposes and optimization of alternative construction methods.

Street view from the building Hunziker Areal in Zurich
“Haus E” at Hunziker Square by Müller Sigrist Architects © Roger Frei
Public square on the Hunziker Areal © Roger Frei
“Haus H” at Hunziker Square by Müller Sigrist Architects © Roger Frei
Greenhouse and shared space by Pool Architekten © Baugenossenschaft mehr als wohnen
Staricase with daylight at Genossenschaftsstraße 18 by Architekturbüro Šik © Ursula Meisser
Shared laundry room at Genossenschaftsstraße 18 by Architekturbüro Šik © Ursula Meisser
Interior Genossenschaftsstraße 11 by Pool Architekten © Baugenossenschaft mehr als wohnen
Shared space © Baugenossenschaft mehr als wohnen
Shared space for children © Baugenossenschaft mehr als wohnen
Standard floors of all 13 buildings on the Hunziker Areal © Duplex Architekten, Futurafrosch, Müller Sigrist Architekten, pool Architekten, Miroslav Sik

General information

ArchitectsARGE: Duplex Architekten & Futurafrosch
Müller Sigrist Architekten, Architekturbüro Miroslav Šik, pool Architekten, Müller Illien Landschaftsarchitekten
Ownermehr als wohnen (cooperative)
AddressHunziker Areal, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland
Construction period2012- 2015
ConstructionSolid construction with thermal insulation façade
Residents 1200 residents and 150 working spaces   
Space41000 m2 total area, 7000 m2 commercial space

Sources

Duplex Architekten (n.y.): Mehr als wohnen, Zürich. Retrieved from https://duplex-architekten.swiss/de/#/de/projekte/mehr-als-wohnen-zurich/ (29.09.2021)

Futurafrosch (n.y.): Hunziker Areal, Zürich. Retrieved from https://architektur.futurafrosch.org (29.09.2021)

Hugentobler, Margrit; Hofer, Andreas; Simmendinger, Pia (2016): Mehr als Wohnen – Genossenschaftlich Planen – Ein Modellfall aus Zürich. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag GmbH.

Mehr als wohnen (n.y.): Das Quartier. Retrieved from https://www.mehralswohnen.ch/hunziker-areal/das-quartier/ (29.09.2021)