Residential building

A wide ramp pierces into the house. One stands between two building parts, in the midst of an urban ravine, somehow reminiscent of the narrow alleyways in Napoli. (…) Even in a downpour or snowstorm one stays dry here. Jutting out daringly over the ravine and covering the entire developed area is a periscope-shape loft. This results in a huge communal terrace on the fourth floor. (…)

As an extension of the terrace in the winter, the entire courtyard-side of the first floor is likewise designed for communal purposes.

The yellow pointed cap. As expressive as the final gesture might seem at first glance, it is the result of a logical and stringently constructed cross-section of the top maisonette apartments. This measure maximizes the use area; the slope of the angle and course of the stairway complement one another in a fine symbiosis, packed in a sulfurous yellow trapezoidal sheet metal section.

Wojciech Czaja, “Freiraum für Soziales (Free Space for Socializing)”, periscope architecture – gerner°gerner plus, 2007