Multiple dwellings Gartenstrasse

When the town walls were laid down as from 1860, busy building work began on the external free land. The Villa Gartenstrasse 78 was part of the initial building phase following the de-fortification of the town. The extension of the town was designed as a generous middle-class residential quarter.

The House Gartenstrasse 78 built by the architect Jakob Eduard Vischer-Sarasin is one of the few remaining villas with grand aspirations from the second half of the 19^th century. It was built in neo-renaissance style in 1871, and extended and fully converted in the new baroque style in 1917.

The side facing the road is dominated by the strict, clearly defined cube of the villa, designed in 1871 by Eduard Vischer in the style of the Italian neo-renaissance. It is characterised by the well-balanced definition, the simplicity of the decorative elements and the peaceful symmetry. The rear side of the villa shows the three-part extension dating back to 1917 in the new baroque language of form. The single-storey winter garden with the magnificent flight of steps fills the western half of the facade.

The two new buildings were added to the villa as related and independent clear cubes. The house on the road is slightly set back from the villa facade line and built on to the villa annex. The height of the cube respects the dominance of the villa. The facade divided into 16 equal elements conceals the four-storey nature of the building. Whilst it is symmetric, it is read more as structure. These measures enable a well-balanced co-existence of old and new with clear respect for the hierarchy.