The buildings running parallel to the platforms at Winterthur railway station stand lined up like rolling stock. Shiny carriages are coupled to dusty ones, local to foreign ones, futuristic to old-fashioned ones: the buildings along the narrow patch of land along the tracks have more in common with the railway network than the fabric of the city. The newly attached railway carriage in particular seems more like a movable than an immovable. This has to do with its shape: just as railway or tram carriages are bevelled at their corners so as not to protrude onto the opposite carriageway on bends, the ends of the new building are also tapered. However, the tapers do not serve to allow the building to move freely, but rather to anchor it to the site and place it in relation to it. Their concave shape complements the convex movement of the buildings opposite. And perhaps this also reflects the eroding force of the traffic flow that has so strikingly shaped the low and high-rise buildings at this location. Situated directly on the railways' end and high above the road, the exposed location calls for an «anchor building». This is why the regularity of the building's shape is so important: this structure does not show the forces of its surroundings that could have shaped it, but on the contrary, one trusts that it has had a formative influence on its surroundings. Thanks to the tapering on both sides, the front façade is given a more upright, elegant proportion. It also visualises the shaping, eroding force of the traffic flows acting on both sides.
What fascinates us about the interiors of the luxurious sleeping carriages of yesteryear is the combination of maximum comfort and maximum efficiency. Living rooms with deep armchairs, folding tables in the light of umbrella lamps, wardrobes, cupboard compartments, alcoves for sleeping and bathrooms can be found in the smallest of spaces. While the world passes by outside the window, you sit cosily in an armchair and ponder your thoughts. Couldn't this be exactly the idea of living in a micro-apartment high above the railway tracks? Nomadic, with light luggage, but with a high standard of comfort and right in the centre of urban life, the background noise of which penetrates mutedly into the interior of the flat. The design of the flats is based on this «narrative». The residential floors are modelled on railway carriages. Just as the carriages rest between two bogies, the residential floors are spanned between two circular staircases. A wide central corridor connects them and provides access to the flat compartments lined up on both sides. These are zoned by movable cupboards without fragmenting the spatial continuity of the overall space. Protected by a deep loggia, the introverted sleeping area forms a dimly lit, secluded cave, while the extroverted living area becomes an actual lookout. A wide variety of living worlds come together in a very small space. Swivelling cupboards, doors with pivot hinges and curtains on endless tracks regulate the spatial relationships and are reminiscent of the mechanical transformation skills of sleeping car interiors.
