Eisengasse Residential Buildings
The Eisengasse Residential Buildings project offers, through its construction method and floor plan structure, an alternative to the regionally prevailing housing market.
By merging two inner-city plots, the potential was created to densify a heterogeneously developed part of the city. The result: two characterful buildings that communicate with each other and with their surroundings.
Location
The project is located in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, near the city centre.
The approximately 1,200 m² site was created by combining a former car park and a dilapidated two-family house. The corner plot is bordered by Eisengasse and Eisplatzgasse.
Opposite lies a former factory site that is being increasingly redeveloped and now accommodates sports facilities, art galleries, a circus school, and small production workshops. The design of Eisengasse responds directly to this urban development context.
Building Structure
A four-storey residential building with 14 units was constructed. On the ground floor, there is a commercial unit as well as communal spaces in the form of a bicycle room and a small workshop, both directly connected to the street.
The outdoor facilities include a paved forecourt and a communal garden to the rear of the property.
Targeted tree plantings further enhance the quality of the streetscape.
With its high density, the design responds to the developments of a growing city and provides increased urban density along an important connection to the city centre.
To fit proportionally and visually into the urban context, the building is articulated into two separate, interlocking volumes. Their massing corresponds to the typical Dornbirn townhouses from the early 20th century. The design of the generous wooden corner verandas also takes inspiration from this building type.
A central, open, yet weather-protected staircase connects the two buildings and provides access to all floors.
A shared lift ensures full accessibility throughout.
In addition to two ground-floor flats with private gardens, each upper floor contains four units:
two larger, quieter flats facing the garden, and two smaller, more urban flats along Eisengasse.
It is also possible to combine two units per floor into a single, dual-aspect apartment of approximately 130 m².
Apartment Layout
Within the apartments, particular emphasis was placed on creating equality among the units, ensuring that each flat—relative to its size—has the same degree of quality.
Every apartment benefits from at least dual-aspect daylight and features an open-plan living and dining area that opens directly onto a generous, covered outdoor space. The adjacent kitchen maintains visual continuity with the dining area.
Each unit also includes a spacious entrance hall, a storage room, and well-sized sanitary facilities, as well as a private basement compartment.
Basement
In the basement, alongside the storage units, are the residents’ parking spaces, two of which are designed to be barrier-free. Additional visitor parking is available outside for both residents and customers of the commercial unit.
Construction
The building was constructed using a hybrid method. A reinforced concrete frame forms the structural skeleton, infilled with timber-frame elements. The external shell is a ventilated façade made of untreated spruce cladding.
The construction method is also clearly perceptible within the apartments: the exposed concrete columns and ceilings make the building’s structure legible.
Floors and doors are made of ash wood; the wet rooms are tiled in colour, and the kitchen and entrance areas feature a robust, polished screed.
The aim of the design was to respond to the needs of the growing city of Dornbirn by creating residential buildings whose structure remains flexible for future development and which address the urban challenge of inner-city densification. Text description by the architects.
