Girondelle Terrace House
| Condition | Heritage protected since 2019. Decisive for the monument justification were the urban planning and architectural historical significance and the artistic achievement. The latter was seen in the remarkable, individual implementation of the terrace house concept in which a complex building geometry and a restrained color concept have created a loosened façade appearance and diverse living floor plans despite low financial resources. Overall, the terraced house is in a good state of preservation. Interventions concern, for example, window elements, which have been replaced in building-period division but not in their color, as well as partially renewed floor coverings, wall designs, doors and parapets. |
| Architects | Albin Hennig |
| Construction Date | 1971 |
On a ridge along Girondelle Street stands the terrace house complex of the same name. The 200m-long reinforced concrete structure with flat roof has staggered heights from one floor in the foothills of the mezzanine to eight floors in the center. Irregularly arranged setbacks on all levels serve to provide well-lit terraces to the various apartments. Thus, the building presents itself as a manifold, sculptural large form, similar to loosely stacked boxes, and is thus in the tradition of Moshe Safdie's Habitat 67 in Montreal. The Girondelle complex is structured by four recessed stairwells accented by a highly vertical façade articulation. The architect Albien Hennig originally wanted all load-bearing parts to be double-skinned in sandblasted exposed concrete. Probably for cost reasons, however, the levels of the building from the second floor upwards were clad with slabs in an exposed concrete-like gray. Contrasting with this, ocher yellow window frames and light blue parapet claddings determine the color concept. The multifaceted exterior shape of the building results in various floor plan solutions on the inside: 211 apartments are formed from single flats for students to large family apartments and ensure a social mix.