Kartoni Quartier

Kartoni Quartier is a vision for a new neighbourhood in the historic city of Glarus, and a new way of living for the twenty-first century.

At its heart, Kartoni Quartier will be a strong community that encourages a healthier way of living, both socially and environmentally. A diverse range of housing types, integrated with mixed-use programming, caters for many different groups of people and families whilst fostering a dynamic community. Once closed off to the city, the new neighbourhood is open and well-connected to the surroundings and wider valley, creating better public infrastructure as well as enriching the larger Glarus community.

A strong connection to place and nature is evident on every level, from the site’s location beside the River Linth facing the historic centre of Glarus, to the new park that creates a gateway to the neighbourhood, to the lush greenery that permeates throughout the plan. This championing of nature extends to sustainability through the use of integrated technology and passive design, as well as construction and material choices. Sustainability is also promoted socially, through creating better communal spaces and the possibility of shared ownership.

The concept for the new neighbourhood derives from the most dominant element of the site: water. Kartoni Quartier offers a unique opportunity to build alongside a river and beside a canal, thereby giving the possibility to forge a new relationship to water for all inhabitants of the valley. Here water can be harnessed as an amenity, creating places for leisure, learning and play, reconnecting with nature, and offering attractive living beside the water’s edge - all of these unique propositions in the context of the Glarner valley.