The city's particularly splendid houses are lined up along the lake like a parade of flagships. Of course, Theaterstrasse is not quite «on the lake», but set back by the depth of the square, and the houses on Sechseläutenplatz are therefore more «houses on the square» than «houses on the lake». As such, they are not solitary buildings, but are integrated into a common building front. However, this does not mean that the buildings have to practise modest restraint: they oscillate, as it were, between solitaire and integration.
The two core parameters for urbanity, density and mix, are most visible at the thresholds between the urban and business worlds, i.e., where the two spheres stimulate each other. In the commercial buildings of the turn of the century, the shop windows are therefore raised to two storeys, while in the commercial buildings of the post-war period, the focus on public space is limited to the ground floor in order to be able to install worlds of artificial light and air on the windowless upper floor. Today's building, with its self-centred muteness, is a particularly eloquent testimony to how much of a loss this is for the public space.
We therefore propose upgrading the projecting canopy, which currently only bears illuminated lettering, as an actual city terrace. This is directly connected to the urban space via the large spiral staircase, providing visitors with an elevated place to rest above the hustle and bustle of the street – and passers-by below with weather protection and shade for the café on the ground floor. We have in mind the cheerful atmosphere under the awnings of the Café Kranzler in Berlin, the popular «Storchen» terrace above Limmat or the elegant terrace of the Kongresshaus, which will soon be completed.
