Urban Planning Police and Justice Center Site
Project Category: Studies/Competitions
Office Building Complex for the European Commission, Project Loi 130
Residential Building with Commercial Spaces, Koch-Areal Section B
Housing Complex Diggelmannstrasse
The small-scale and heterogeneous structure to be found in Zurich’s Albisrieden residential district was the reason for dividing up the projected volume into several units. The multiple occupancy buildings with their polygonal volumes and varied footprints are grouped together on one plot. The materials used provide a common link, with the overall color scheme defining the buildings as a group, but also differentiating them and establishing a correlation with the surrounding built environment.
Access to both buildings in the north is gained directly from the street at basement level. A path leads to the building behind, to the south. It forms part of a star-like figure made of large slabs set in a continuous stretch of lawn. Deciduous trees accentuate the open space and provide shady areas for relaxation.
The apartments have between 2 and 4 bedrooms and varied, polygonal floor plans. Generously-sized balconies facing different directions lead off the living areas. The amount of direct sunlight and the degree of privacy required on the balconies can be ‘adjusted’ using curtains. The kitchens can be left open to the livingdining areas or closed with sliding doors.
The façades are articulated by alternating bands of windows and sill-height walls, which link the projecting balconies and recessed roof terraces to form one entity. The rear-ventilated cladding of colored, enameled glass sheets alternates with translucent glazed panels of the same color around the balconies and terraces.
The color scheme was devised in close cooperation with the artist Adrian Schiess. The two colors selected for the smaller buildings closer to the road are a yellowish-green up to sill height and a purple shade for the wall areas between the windows. A combination of pink and beige was chosen for the larger building in the garden to the south. The overlapping reflections across the colored glazed panels interweave not only the ‘color layers’ of the buildings, but also the neighboring structures, trees, and the color of the sky to form part of the optical impression created.
Extension and Renovation Oskar Reinhart Collection «Am Römerholz»
With the addition and alterations to the ‘Römerholz Villa’, the building once again undergoes a transformation. In 1915, the Geneva architect Maurice Turrettini, commissioned by then-owner Heinrich Ziegler-Sulzer, erected the building in the style of a French Renaissance country house. In 1924 Oskar Reinhart purchased the house and commissioned the same architect to build a gallery addition to accomodate his growing art collection. After his death in 1965, Oskar Reinhart bequeathed the building with its internationally prominent collection to the Swiss Confederation. After extensive alterations in 1970, the ground floor of the residential part of the building and the gallery spaces were made accessible to the public as a museum. The most recent alteration and renovation work can be traced to changing requirements with regard to lighting, operations and security that are required of contemporary museum spaces. Priority is laid therein upon the improved presentation of the high-quality works of art.
The architectonic means used to satisfy the varied requirements range from the replacement of two existing exhibition spaces with newly constructed ones, to simple renovation work, up to near-complete restoration of the historical spatial disposition and materials*. Hence, the commission divides itself into a plethora of differentiated interventions. This includes, for example, the spatial separation of the entrance space from the cloak room, in order to create more space for receiving guests; the restoration of the spatial arrangement in the former dining room; the reconstruction of former windows in order to illuminate certain sculptures; the reconstruction of the earlier parquet flooring in the gallery spaces; as well as the addition of etched panes of glass hung before the lantern skylight of the large gallery and the installation of sensor controlled louvers to regulate the light intensity.
The most far reaching changes are the three new exhibition spaces that mark the transition between the former residence and the gallery area. Corresponding to the works on display, the three spaces possess various sizes and proportions. The larger room is to house oil paintings, while the two smaller rooms are planned to display light sensitive graphic works. All three spaces are naturally lit; electronically regulated louvers lessen the intensity of the light. The skylights on the ceiling have the appearance of glowing lit panels and distribute light evenly into the space.
On the exterior, the new exhibition halls with their recessed skylights appear as closed, step-tapered volumes in concrete. Akin to a joint placed between the residence and the gallery wing, they terminate the entrance court on its shorter side. Like the existing gallery wing, the roof surfaces are covered with copper sheet. Large, pre-fabricated concrete elements form the cladding of the walls and the recessed skylight lanterns. Jura limestone and copper, two of the primary materials of the existing villa, were mixed into the concrete as powdered ingredients. The limestone and the copper powder in combination lead to a quick acting oxidation and to a green shift in colouration of the concrete. As water, enriched by copper ions, drains from the roof, the colouration process of the façade will increase over time. By virtue of this accelerated patinisation, the new building should make a kind of ‘journey through time’ towards the two, older, historic building elements - in the sense of an ‘alchemistic’ adaptation of the new building to the genius loci.
* Additional information:
The federal government passed general spending limits at the beginning of the planning phase, which also affected the retrofitting budget for the Oskar Reinhart Collection "Am Römerholz". Funds were cut in half, so that a comprehensive renovation was no longer feasible. In 2009/2010 a separate renovation phase took place without Gigon/Guyer participating. This included the construction of a new shelter space for cultural artifacts, the restaurant kitchen, the restrooms, the museum education spaces, and modifications of the technical equipment, by P&B Architekten.
Extension of Kunst Museum Winterthur / Beim Stadthaus
Publications about the Erweiterung Kunst Museum Winterthur
national press / specialist press since 1995 (PDF Download)
international press / specialist press since 1995 (PDF Download)
The expansion of the Kunst Museum Winterthur / Beim Stadthaus , long planned and now realised in the form of a provisional structure, creates the spatial conditions to not only house temporary exhibitions, but also to be able to permanently present the extensive collection of the Kunstverein.
The new building is connected to the museum spaces of Rittmeyer & Furrer’s existing building by a bridge. The exhibition rooms of the addition are simple, rectangular spaces with sawtooth skylights facing north. By means of a simple grid the basic area measuring approximately 1,000 square metres is divided into spaces that vary in both size and proportion. During the tour through the rooms one enters the individual spaces at different locations, creating the impression for visitors of a subtle, spatial differentiation. Three large windows offer the possibility of an outward glance and orientation. Corresponding to the budget-related industrial-like manner in which the building is constructed and illuminated, the floor plan layout, void of circulation spaces, is also very economical and rational. The single storey nature of the museum allows – besides the illumination of all spaces with zenithal light – a flexible combination of the rooms with the various works of art.
The project aims to avoid a makeshift impression within the exhibition rooms, whilst obeying as far as possible the rules of a temporary structure in terms of design and material qualities. This understanding stipulates a layered, two-ply construction: common, long-lasting and - as far as possible - jointless materials in the interior spaces, and additive, recyclable elements that can be quickly mounted or de-mounted for construction, insulation and cladding. Hence, the interior of the building is largely built as a solid into the load-bearing, lightweight steel construction. Gypsum masonry forms large-surface, jointless walls, and a poured, floating granolithic concrete floor serves to accommodate heavy loads.
The building is insulated with standardised, steel sheet C-profiles filled with insulation batts. The C-profiles are mounted between the vertical members of the steel construction. The underside of the museum floor and the facades are insulated with these galvanised, perforated panels. They are protected from the weather by sheets of galvanised metal on the roof and vertical rows of glass profiles on the facades. The same glass profiles, set apart with open joints in between, serve on the ground floor to illuminate and ventilate the parking spaces, while they simultaneously “ground” the museum building, which seemingly hovers above the garage.
Refurbishment of the Herdern High-rise Building
The slab-shaped high rise in western Zurich is part of the Herdern Migros headquarters, which opened in 1965 and is now listed as an industrial heritage site. Over the years, the brick facade of the 17-storey building has become weatherworn and is undergoing comprehensive refurbishment. The urban and preservation context as well as the building’s proportions are particularly significant in this respect.
The work comprises the static and energetic renovation, including HVAC renewal. On the shorter sides, the load-bearing structure is being reinforced, while the existing brick facades and parapets will be replaced and thermally insulated all around. The new fair-faced masonry walls resemble the old ones in brick format, texture and colour. New aluminium windows with triple insulation glazing meet the thermal and acoustic specifications. Inside, the ribbed concrete ceilings of the office spaces will be uncovered and will serve as temperature buffer. They create a workshop-like atmosphere that matches the industrial history and aesthetic of the building.
The setback top storey, surrounded by a roof terrace, houses an executive board room. The entire space, along with the small kitchen, will be refurbished and offers panoramic views of Zurich West and the Alps.
New Social Insurance Centre WAS (Wirtschaft Arbeit Soziales)
Areal Eichhof West
School Building Freilager
Swiss Museum of Transport – Urban Development Concept
The development concept for the Museum of Transportation in Lucerne takes as its point of departure an urbanistic configuration that already exists in the southern part of the complex: the addition of solitary, thematic buildings. In the future urbanistic layout the individual building volumes are to be linked on various levels by gangways, bridges and ramps. Thus, a “central” outdoor space will gradually develop between the buildings that is articulated and zoned through the position of the buildings and the gangways. The additive principal enables visitors to easily find the individual thematic areas, and allows a simple, phased realization of the future building projects as well as a stylistic plurality among the buildings. The latter is sought instead of attempting to lay down an obligatory, unified design strategy for future generations.
The first building phase, the "Street Forum", involves a new building placed on the eastern edge of the complex. It bounds the exterior space here that currently drifts off into the adjacent housing quarter void of any tension. The theme of riding, of "moving on wheels" is picked up architecturally by means of circulation ramps that allow the building to be accessed on various levels without any stairs. Two bridges connect the building with the Maritime Hall and the Rail Traffic Hall. In addition, a "transverse gangway" will lead from the entrance area to the "Street Forum" in a future development phase.
The exhibition zones are arranged upon three levels. They are divided into areas that are lit with daylight along the façades and areas located in the center of the building lit artificially. Electrically-controlled sun shading blinds made with fabrics (as in the roofs of convertible cars) or plastic tarps (such as cover trucks) regulate the light and heat gain levels of the building during the day.
The load-bearing structure mirrors the usage arrangement: slanted steel-concrete composite columns form the outer support structure and stiffen the building along its exterior envelope. The filigree statics of the bridges and ramps, which "ride" about and dock with the building, also characterize the building's façade. Concrete wall panels plus a stair and elevator core—whose placement can be freely chosen—take over the load-bearing function within the building. With a thickness of 40 to 45 centimeters the ceilings are able to accommodate ventilation ductwork, allowing one to forgo the use of suspended ceiling elements.
The materials are those found in rough construction. Concrete floors and ceilings as well as the steel support structure remind one of industrial buildings as well as street and bridge construction. The large-scale glazing of the façades nevertheless goes beyond the "garage-like" atmosphere to communicate an ambience of presentation—similar to that of an automobile showroom.
