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Domestic rhythm zone takes shape based on the prevalence of home related activities, which can be sensed by the residents and the visitors. Both in Kleiburg and Kikkenstein (as well as many other high-rise housing projects), the physical elements of the domestic rhythm zones are ground floor terraces (in Kleiburg) and private balconies (in Kikkenstein and Kleiburg). In both buildings, this zone faces the south. Most of these apartments get sunlight in this area, and during sunny days there are many residents enjoying the sun at the ground floor terraces or in the balconies. Both in Kikkenstein and Kleiburg, the domestic rhythms are quite noticeable just by looking slightly up. Children voices in the late afternoon as well as silences during the day are some of the factors that can be perceived.
At Kleiburg, these rhythms are quite visible at the ground level, since there are the family apartments that open up to the green space. Furnitures placed at these spaces by the residents give indications for these rhythms. Although it is adjacent to a public space, this rhythm zone results being quite private. In fact, there is never anyone walking in this zone, or sitting casually on the grass. The occupiers of this zone are the residents themselves and even their absence doesn’t create an invitation for the outsiders for occupying this space.
The domestic rhythm zone in Kleiburg is interrupted by the three large underpasses, where there are foot and bike paths connecting to the other side of the building. Next to two of these underpasses there are entrances to the upper floors. Yet, this division doesn’t effect the domestic rhythms. In order to guarantee this effect, the walking paths are designed in a clever way. These get close to the apartments but not too much, creating a space of around 5 meters for the domestic rhythms to take place.
In Kikkenstein, the ground floor of the domestic rhythm zone is not openly planned as in Kleiburg. There are backside doors of the storage spaces, but the residents use the entrances from the other side of the building to access their storages. Therefore, the ground floor here merely results being the backside of the building. The domestic rhythms in Kikkenstein, however, can still be felt thanks to the apartments on the first floor, which are at less than 3-meter level height. Since there are no apartments on the ground floor, it is possible to get very close to the building. When doing this, however, one can also get very close to the personal space of the residents on the first floor. For this reason, the low height of the first-floor apartments influences the visitors to take a similar distance to the building at the domestic rhythm zone, of around 5 meters.
Also like in Kleiburg, the Kikkenstein domestic rhythm zone is interrupted by underpasses; there are in total 2 of them, instead of 3 like in Kleiburg. Their size is exactly the half in height and width in comparison to Kleiburg's, making them look dark and empty. They are also not connected to any of the entrances from this side of the building. As a result they function more as barriers rather than connectors in this urban area.
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- K&K - domestic rhythms Kleiburg
- K&K - domestic rhythms Kikkenstein
- K&K - domestic rhythms Kleiburg
- K&K - domestic rhythms Kikkenstein