Sorrento Dübendorf
05.08.2024 05:13:48 - 06.08.2024 05:13:48
24 hours photo project by Studio Willen

The Sorrento residential high-rise is enthroned as if in an abstract painting and radiates a stately elegance with its splendidly shimmering façade. Depending on the time of day and the incidence of light, a magical interplay of colors and shadows is created. For this sixth FABER edition, Sorrento was photographed by Studio Willen over a 24-hour period and is now told through their personal view of the architecture in 1921 images.

Click here: Time-lapse 05.08.2024 05:13:48 - 06.08.2024 05:13:48

The shimmering silver façade rises high into the sky. The view glides upwards along the sharp-edged corner of the building, past the free-floating balconies and the colorful brise soleil. At a height of sixty meters, the skyscraper ends abruptly. Like an abstract painting. In fact, David Hockney's work ‘A Bigger Splash’ has influenced the appearance of the Dübendorf apartment block. It is not the single-storey house that can be seen in the painting, which was created in California in 1967, but the bright colors of the pop art work that play a central role: the different shades of blue, red and yellow of the brise soleil envelop the balconies in a soft light and are reflected by the smooth aluminum cladding of the façade. The bright house against the azure blue background evokes associations with Mediterranean villages and towns, balmy summer nights and carefree holiday feelings. It is no coincidence that a projecting canopy marks the main entrance and bears the lettering “Sorrento”. In the 1950s, the hotel of the same name in Miami Beach played on people's longing for the Old World. Its color accents hidden in the interior inspired the design of the semi-public access areas and the entrance hall of the residential tower. The blue and white wave pattern of a tiled wall brings a fresh breeze into the six-meter-high hall. Next to it are surfaces in warm yellow and red. In the center of the building, two lifts lead up to the 20th floor. Perhaps high enough to catch a glimpse of the sea?

Willen Studio
David Willen (*1968 in Bern) and Tania Willen (*1967 in Bern) have been working closely together since 2003. In 2015 they founded Studio Willen in Zurich. The photographer and the graphic designer, who specializes in image processing, always keep four eyes on their images and work together on their creation and impact. They develop visual concepts and create visual worlds for a renowned national and international clientele, including the lifestyle magazine Monocle. In addition to commissioned work in the field of object, design and architectural photography, Studio Willen also does individual projects. One of these resulted in 2017 in the publication “Appetite for the Magnificent”, a photographic-essayistic study on aquariums, published by Edition Patrick Frey.
studiowillen.net

FABER is a series of works by Stücheli Architekten AG. At the beginning of each year, creatives are invited to add their own perspective to the office's current buildings.

Publication frequency:
Annually, 6th year, November 2024
Circulation 500 copies ISSN 2571-6433
Publisher: Stücheli Architekten AG, Binzstrasse 18, 8045 Zurich

FABER 06, 2024: “Sorrento Dübendorf 05.08.2024 05:13:48 - 06.08.2024 05:13:48”, a personal view of the architecture told in 1921 pictures by Studio Willen of the Sorrento residential high-rise in Dübendorf.

Already published:
FABER01, 2018: "Fräulein Schwarz und das Meer", a love story by Ralf Schlatter about the Ambassador House
FABER02, 2019: "White Noise", seven compositions by Marcel Vaid about the Lakeview Residence Villas
FABER03, 2020: "DODAR - the WOLF", a film by schwarzpictures.com about the Lufthansa Aviation Training Centre
FABER04, 2022: "Das erfrischende Bad im See", an illustration by Matthias Gnehm on the occasion of the complete renovation of the Utoquai 55 office building; original: 68 x 95 cm, chalk and graphite on acid-free cardboard
FABER 05, 2023: "05", an olfactory homage by perfumer Andreas Wilhelm to the HIF research building on the ETH Hönggerberg campus