The parameters of the urban planning concept for the S–Bahn (commuter rail network) Bern Bümpliz Nord station served as the basis of the proposed scheme. The designated plot–Construction Zones A and B–is located next to the buildings that have already been realized in Construction Zone C along Mühledorfstrasse, endowing this next phase with the potential to become a new gateway to the S-Bahn station, being clearly visible from both sides of the tracks.
Precisely positioned on this prominent corner of the station area, the main structures have been rendered in a quiet, clear language of form, and in terms of these volumes, have been integrated into the surroundings according to the outlines of the master plan, respecting the station area, underpass, and circulation on the street level.
The larger main structures open volumetrically to the street, but in terms of their residential typology have been detailed in the same manner as the smaller structures. The plinth level of all buildings is allocated to usage open to the public. The generous stairway complex to the underpass and the ramp for circulation without any steps are housed in the volumes of the building structures, whereby an arcade-like open-style roofed construction accentuates the entrances.
On the upper floors of all of the structures there are apartments, which react typologically to the noise generated by the railway. In this sense the way the loggias of the apartments are oriented away from the noise–thereby also profiting from more open views of the sky–makes the articulation of the buildings clearly readable.