Designing inclusively from the outset
Accessibility, orientation, routes, light, contrast, wayfinding, acoustics and use of space should be considered together, not added later as an exception.
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LIVING · EDUCATION · MOBILITY Student & Young Adult LivingArchitecture for educational mobility and young-adult independence. Bau Lütz conceives and develops places for students, trainees, researchers and young adults who live temporarily away from home. Places where living means more than having a bed: it means being able to study, work, rest, meet other people and freely shape everyday life. In property language, this is often called student housing. For Bau Lütz, the subject is broader: designing residential infrastructure that supports educational mobility without reducing its residents to the single status of “student”. |
AUTONOMY
Not a bed space. A place to live.
A young person should be able to study, sleep, work at a computer, cook, exercise, be alone, see friends, welcome loved ones, return late or take part in communal life.
And they should be able to choose not to take part.
Privacy, acoustics, safety, freedom of use and sociability are not extras. They are design material.
Good Student Living neither forces community nor produces isolation.
It creates the conditions for both possibilities to remain real.
privacy study sociability acoustics movement autonomy
ACCESSIBILITY AND DIFFERENT FORMS OF AUTONOMY
Autonomy does not mean that everyone is the same.
The young adult described on this page may be sighted or visually impaired, hearing or deaf, walk freely or use a wheelchair or other aids. They may have different motor, sensory or temporary needs.
Architecture should enable the greatest possible degree of autonomy without turning the person into a clinical category.
The person before the category
A person with a motor or sensory disability is first and foremost a person who studies, works, loves, meets friends, wants privacy and lives their own life.
Real independence
Clear, usable solutions should support autonomy, dignity and freedom of use without assuming a single way of living.
EVERYDAY LIFE
Private and shared spaces.
Rooms and micro-apartments must provide genuine personal space. Shared settings can enrich the life of the building without replacing the private dimension.
Depending on the building, and where size and feasibility allow, spaces may support study, work, daily care, movement and encounter.
shared or semi-shared kitchens laundries study rooms workspaces bicycle storage fitness terraces gardens studios workshops cinema gaming music and rehearsals with appropriate acoustic treatment
Compatible freedoms
One person’s freedom to live and socialise must remain compatible with another person’s right to study, rest or sleep.
QUALITY AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
Beauty need not mean exclusivity.
Housing for students and young adults need not be poor to be economically sustainable, nor must it become luxury in order to have architectural quality.
Every city, building and operation presents different conditions. Bau Lütz seeks a credible balance between spatial quality, floor area, durability, management, materials and total cost.
Beauty, dignity, functionality and cost control must be addressed together.
Spatial quality
Proportions, light, acoustics and materials affect everyday life as much as functional organisation does.
Durability and management
Choices must be understandable, maintainable and adaptable over time.
A concrete balance
The project is assessed in its own context, without abstract economic promises or predetermined outcomes.
ADAPTIVE REUSE
A new life for buildings that have completed their previous one.
A significant part of the model can emerge from transforming existing building stock.
Former hotels, guesthouses, clinics, decommissioned care homes, offices, training centres, religious properties, underused municipal buildings, small residential complexes and other structures may, under certain conditions, provide an interesting basis for new ways of living.
There is no automatic conversion.
Bau Lütz begins by reading the building and its context before defining the project.
structure geometry light plan depth accessibility building services acoustics escape routes materials energy permitted use planning mobility project economics
NEW CONSTRUCTION
When the place calls for building from the ground up.
Where territory, demand, programme and feasibility make it appropriate, Student & Young Adult Living can also take shape as new construction.
Orientation, layout, the relationship between private units and shared spaces, future flexibility, landscape, mobility, materials and climatic performance can then be conceived together from the outset.
The goal is not to construct a generic building with many rooms.
It is to create a recognisable, liveable place that is built to last.
CLIMATE · COMFORT · SUSTAINABILITY
Comfort is part of architecture.
Natural light, air quality, protection from overheating, acoustics, materials, energy and the relationship between indoors and outdoors all contribute to the everyday quality of living.
Natural ventilation, shading, vegetation, water, biodiversity, mobility, bicycles, intermediate spaces, durability and maintenance are considered where relevant to the place and project.
Climate and health
Winter and summer comfort, air, light, noise and the capacity to adapt should be understood as parts of the same system.
Materials and resources
Durability, maintenance and the compatibility of construction choices contribute to the project’s real sustainability.
Landscape and mobility
Outdoor spaces, water, vegetation and access can improve the relationship between the building, the neighbourhood and everyday life.
The 2030 Agenda can provide a framework of questions and relationships. It does not, by itself, constitute a certification, label or guarantee.
SUSTAINABILITY →ARCHITECTURE FOR TOMORROW’S CLIMATE →EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY
The building can continue to be useful even when some units are temporarily available.
Student & Young Adult Living exists first and foremost for people living in the residence during periods of study, training or research.
Where compatible with residents, management and regulations, temporarily available capacity may support other organised forms of educational mobility.
summer schools language courses intensive programmes exchanges seminars cultural activities research music sport intercantonal mobility visiting students visiting researchers
Educational & Seasonal Living
This does not mean turning a student residence into a generic hotel. Temporary use remains connected to education, research, culture, exchange and educational mobility.
Any programmes also intended for minors require specific organisation, responsibilities, supervision and management checks.
THE ROLE OF BAU LÜTZ
From opportunity to operation.
Bau Lütz works on more than the design of the building.
Depending on the project, it can read a place or a need, set up a pre-study, define the housing proposition, coordinate design and feasibility, and bring together the expertise required to develop the operation.
Owners, educational institutions, public bodies, designers, investors, funders, operators and contractors can enter the process with different roles, defined by the specific case.
Place or need
Recognise the context, the people and the possibility that remains open.
Pre-study
Read the conditions, constraints, programme and necessary assessments.
Design and feasibility
Bring architectural quality and real conditions into relation.
Development
Coordinate roles and stages when the conditions to proceed exist.
Not every opportunity reaches delivery. Responsibilities, appointments and phases are defined for each specific case.
BROADER HOUSING SYSTEMS
In some projects, Student & Young Adult Living can form an autonomous core within broader housing systems while preserving privacy, autonomy and freedom of use.
INTEGRATED VILLAGES AND RESIDENCES →FROM CONCEPT TO OPPORTUNITY
A place, a need, a pathway to assess.
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Student & Young Adult Living can begin with a building or a plot, a housing need expressed by an institution, a project to develop, or the availability of an operator or partner. Seven different entry points are unnecessary: the pre-study gathers the context, clarifies the relationship with the place or need, and identifies which assessments are required. Submission opens a preliminary assessment and does not automatically imply acceptance, appointment, funding or delivery. |
ONE ENTRY POINT Tell us about the actual situation. The professional form lets you describe the place, the need, the people involved and the available documents. |
2030 AGENDA AND SWISS REFERENCES
A framework, not a label
The Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda help connect local decisions with broader issues. They are not a building certification and do not replace standards, permits or technical assessments.
Tools to be used only when relevant
SNBS, Minergie, Minergie-ECO, GEAK Plus and other Swiss references can guide criteria, questions and further studies. Bau Lütz does not claim certifications without supporting documentation.
Our perspective
Reduce new land consumption, regenerate underused buildings, create durable housing systems, and integrate landscape, local economies, quality of living and management.
La Farfalla: applies this perspective as a model in development; every site requires its own assessments.
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