House Steiger Doldertal Zurich 1959

The Doldertal, a small valley in the north of the city of Zurich, is best known in the history of architecture as the residence of Swiss architectural theorist Sigfried Giedion, whose book “Space, Time and Architecture” (1941) is considered a landmark in the historiography of modernity. In 1936, Giedion commissions two houses designed by Alfred Roth and Marcel Breuer – known as the Doldertal Apartment Houses – which to this day remain among the most important works of Neues Bauen in Switzerland. In 1959, the architect couple Flora Steiger-Crawford and Ruedi Steiger build their own homestead in the Doldertal – in immediate proximity to the Doldertal Apartment Houses. Crawford and Steiger are important representatives of the Swiss avant-garde; moreover, Flora Crawford is the first woman to receive a diploma in architecture from ETH Zurich. That same year, Alfred Roth designs another building, the Fellowhouse, right next to House Steiger. “House Steiger 1959: Flora Steiger-Crawford and Rudolf Steiger” for the first time offers an in-depth look at the genesis of this masterpiece of modern Swiss architecture. Detailed analyses illustrate the central layout and outline the chronology, typology and construction of the building. Further contributions illuminate the relationship to local typography, the cultural context of the building, as well as important historical and contemporary architectural references, including House Steiger’s famous neighbors.