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Our annual office trip took place on a sunny late summer's day at the end of September. After a hearty breakfast at our office, we headed towards Central Switzerland. Our first stop was the “Suurstoffi” site in Risch-Rotkreuz. The campus of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, which specializes in technology and architecture, is based here. The multi-storey wood construction of the two architectural firms, Manetsch Meyer Architekten and Büro Konstrukt, has a pragmatic and timeless design. Also worth seeing is the CO2-neutral high-rise building with its vertical gardens by Ramser Schmid architects from Zurich.
At the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum, we discovered rural buildings from all over Switzerland, organized by region of origin and faithfully recreated in a wonderful natural setting.
Our last stop was the "Fischerstube" restaurant on the Zürichhorn. From the outside, the building is reminiscent of a pile dweller's house, but inside it is a modern gastronomy business with complex building services docked underground. A project by architect Patrick Thurston from Bern, who gave us a personal and multi-layered tour of the building. The restaurant is characterized by a honeycomb-like ceiling design by Urs Beat Roth, an artist, mathematician and architect from Zurich, and a large window front. A grand place to round off an eventful day with a cosy dinner.
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The complete renovation and extension of the HIF research building on the ETH Zurich Hönggerberg campus was successfully completed at the end of 2023 thanks to the efforts of everyone involved. As part of the overall renovation, the basic structure of the existing building was preserved and supplemented with an extension for additional laboratories and a new, smaller building hall with seminar rooms. The building has now been officially inaugurated.
Picture credits «ETH Zurich / Nicola Pitaro»
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Over the next three years, another high-rise building will be built in Zurich-Seebach that will be entirely dedicated to residential living. This week, the first excavators have been driven up and we are delighted to be able to start work on the Leutschenbach residential tower. This will contain 224 rental apartments, mainly with 2.5 and 3.5 rooms, aimed primarily at a young clientele.
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The site is located in the immediate vicinity of the entrance and exit of the Gubrist tunnel, on the eastern edge of Weiningen. The northern ends of the four terraced buildings border Zürcherstrasse. To the east, a five-storey building forms the prelude to the site; the three other buildings are four-storey. All of the flats are accessed via sculptural external staircases and pergolas, which open out into private outdoor spaces at certain points. Regardless of the size, which ranges from 1.5 to 4-5 rooms, all residential units are orientated towards the east and west. The wooden buildings with their eaves-side pergolas bear a subtle resemblance to the traditional farmhouses of the Zurich wine country.
Private project competition by invitation, single-stage, anonymous procedure with four architectural firms and landscape architects. Won 1st place.
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After more than 45 years of use, the buildings of the Zurich North Cantonal School complex are in need of repair. The temporary school building on the Irchel campus will be used by around 2,000 students of the cantonal school as a temporary school facility without interrupting school operations from August 2024 to July 2027.
The advanced construction work on the Irchel campus is taking shape and the planned relocation phase from July 2024 to August 2024 is approaching.
A third short video edition from the cantonal school's "Smovie" series shows the current status of the project.
Client: Canton of Zurich Building Department
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A former industrial site next to Wetzikon railway station is being transformed into a striking urban building block with residential and commercial use. Most of the existing building will be retained. Two partial extensions and two free-standing new buildings complete the ensemble. The study brief includes a variety of residential typologies that are aimed at different target groups and ensure a lively neighbourhood. Differentiated outdoor spaces such as a public park along the tracks, a square as the main access to the site in its centre and an avenue along the northern section of the street shape the surroundings.
Private project competition by invitation, single-stage, anonymous procedure with six architectural firms and landscape architects. Not won.
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Surrounded by greenery, the Hurdäckerstrasse residential development is located on the outskirts of Zurich. The buildings, characterised by numerous projections and recesses as well as a differentiated height development, are carefully integrated into the rural surroundings. The landscape space flows into the estate between the two rows. At the southern corners of the buildings, the private outdoor spaces are stacked upwards and, like the base storeys, are constructed from concrete. The façades of the upper storeys are clad in bronze-coloured, ribbed sheet metal. To the south of the property is a listed barn, which has been professionally renovated and converted into a communal space.
