The Halen Estate (''Siedlung Halen'') is a housing development near

Berne, Switzerland Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

. It was designed and built by the

Atelier 5 Atelier 5 is a modernist architectural company based in Switzerland. Atelier 5 founded in 1955 in Bern, Switzerland by the five architects Erwin Fritz, Samuel Gerber, Rolf Hesterberg, Hans Hostettler and Alfredo Pini and later joined by Niklaus ...

architectural partnership from 1957 to 1961. Located in a wooded area north of the city, the development is an important example of 20th century

Modernist architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

(

Structuralism In sociology, anthropology, archaeology, history, philosophy, and linguistics, structuralism is a general theory of culture and methodology that implies that elements of human culture must be understood by way of their relationship to a broader ...

), and as such is listed on the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

Description

Halen Estate comprises 81 privately owned houses arranged in three terraces. Built on a hillside, the terraces are reminiscent of steps. The development, quite

dense Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematically ...

, is also home to a swimming pool and other communal amenities. Most of the buildings are large 3,80m and presents three different levels organized in different cases. The southern part has a ground floor with garden and one bedroom, on the mid level (looking to the common area of the main street) there is the living area, then there is the third level where again we find one bedroom and services.

References

External links

Halen
at HousingPrototypes.org Housing estates in Switzerland Buildings and structures in Bern Buildings and structures completed in 1961 Modernist architecture in Switzerland Structuralism {{Switzerland-struct-stub