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A cooperative housing project designed with brutalist-style, flexible living spaces and various common areas, including a rooftop greenhouse.
Completed in by lead architects Clauss Kahl Merz in collaboration with Martina Kausch architects (up to the construction stage), Lyse Lotte is a large-scale, cooperative housing project in Basel, Switzerland. The building is located between two recently developing residential neighborhoods: St. Johann, a former workers’ district, and Lysbüchel-Süd, a former industrial area. Constructed from steel, concrete and glass, the building has an asymmetric design. The flexible living spaces have different typologies and create a “collage-like architecture”, as the studio explains. The building also features balconies filled with plants, pergolas and shared outdoor spaces.
The ground floor houses a commercial space and areas that open to a lush garden. Offering room for up to 40 people, the residences vary widely, from duplexes to apartments with 5.5 rooms and shared apartments with a large arbor. All floors also boast common areas that enable a sense of community. Flexible to adapt with ease to changing needs, the living spaces also allow the residents to live alongside the other inhabitants or to retreat for moments of solitude. On the roof, there’s a large terrace, a greenhouse, and a guest suite.
Built with simple and robust materials, the interiors feature brutalist-like elements finished in concrete, metal, and wood. Handcrafted details and vibrantly colored curtains that cover windows or separate areas complete the minimalist interiors. On this project, Clauss Kahl Merz also collaborated with Studio Céline Baumann, who completed the landscape design. Photography© Willem Pab.
