Blaesi by Wallimann Reichen is a residential building with commercial space on the ground floor, located in a dense area of Kleinbasel, Switzerland.
Building law regulations, as well as the location and size of the given plot, severely restricted the set of conditions that influenced the project. Keeping with the character of the multi-layered neighborhood, four small flats, and a ground-floor studio were completed.
The standard flat is characterized by a simple, open floor plan, which is fluidly modeled around the off-center access core. In the form of an inner circuit, functionality is combined with a sense of generosity in a small space, and the limits of conventional room proportions are explored. The spatial vessel, lined with painted industrial masonry, with its horizontal spaces accompanying the two façades, finds its external counterpart in ribbon windows.
On the south side, with the help of large lift-and-slide windows, they transform the respective dining and living area into a light-flooded loggia. While the standard flat unfolds on the surface, the penthouse expands vertically with and in the striking, open core.
The studio is perceived as a continuous spatial unit, but functions in a separate way over two storeys, comparable to the maisonette attic flat.
