Röntgenstrasse 43

The balcony cluster is located in the courtyard of the building complex. There are two interesting aspects concerning the balconies. On the one hand its context and on the other it’s form. Regarding its context, the balconies where built as an attachment to a row of older buildings located in Zürich’s Kreis 5. They were constructed using mostly concrete and connected to the existing facade. They are an indication for the gentrification that has taken place in the district. For one the difference in the materials used for the original building and the new balcony. Further the addition of this rather luxurious balcony indicates that the new tenants have higher expectations for their apartments than the previous population demographic that inhabited the building. The balcony’s form is another point of interest. The balconies are offset at each level. This is an effort to allow more light to reach each balcony in an already darker courtyard and generate a feeling of openness. Furthermore the offset furthers the social interaction between the neigbours, by allowing them to see on to the different balconies from above.