Extension Housing Development Brunnenhof
Project Category: Current
New Social Insurance Centre WAS (Wirtschaft Arbeit Soziales)
Areal Eichhof West
Extension Josef Albers Museum Quadrat Bottrop «Josef-Albers-Galerie»
A two-story wing has been added to the “Josef Albers Museum Quadrat”, situated in Bottrop’s historical park Stadtgarten. It accommodates temporary exhibitions and additional space for museum education, art storage and the workshop.
The new structure is situated to the northeast of the judge’s villa from 1913 and the museum buildings by Bernhard Küppers from the 1970s and ‘80s, which form the existing ensemble. The shape, materials and colours of the extension were chosen so that the different construction periods and their respective architectures remain legible but nonetheless form a new harmonic whole. The added volume has a rectangular footprint like the historical villa and is offset from the adjacent wing in such a way as to preserve the trees and the views to the north-east from the existing rooms. The pond, which was created after the last construction phase in the 1980s, has been moved a few metres closer to the access road, thus enhancing its presence.
Contrasting with Küppers’s steel and glass pavilions, the new extension appears as a compact structure with only a few deliberately placed openings, while its materials and colours refer to the older buildings. A cladding of powder-coated metal panels envelops the volume and forms a brim around the sawtooth rooflights. Along the outermost rooflight, the cladding tilts forward and generates a light funnel. In a similar fashion, the north-western facade partly unfolds to create a protected outdoor delivery area.
The ground floor on the Stadtgarten level contains the workshop, the art depot, an office and the library as well as the two educational rooms. The latter are accessed via the exhibition level and are oriented towards the pond.
Museum visitors enter the new tract via a connecting bridge from which a window affords a view of the park. The trapezoidal plan of the bridge makes it seem longer upon arrival and shorter on the way back.
The path through the eight exhibition rooms of varying dimensions is partly meandering and partly straight. Four large windows, one on each side of the building, enable visitors to enjoy vistas of the park, and passers-by to look into the museum. The works of art are largely illuminated from above by the sawtooth rooflights. The spatial proportions, the door and window openings, as well as the surface materials are selected to foster the perception of the art. Art takes priority: it has not simply been given more room in the extension; it has also been given “breathing space”.
CreaTower I office high-rise with CreaTower II urban planning concept
In the Tech Cluster Zug, the 40-metre office high-rise Crea I and the 60-metre residential tower Crea II, the latter with a large base, will be built in two stages. Together with the sculpture Semiramis (Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich), they form a harmonious ensemble and a central square.
The ten-storey office building will serve as the headquarters of VZ Depotbank and is accessed via an arcade facing the public V-Platz. The new building has an almost square column grid with a slightly off-centre two-part core. The bays along the façades contain the workplaces in various arrangements, the meeting rooms and the recessed, two-storey terraces. The four interior bays adjacent to the core offer space for exchange and informal meetings, with spiralling double-storey rooms and open flights of helical stairs. It is this central void, with horizontal and vertical views and varying headroom, which connects the floors into a continuous, inspiring work landscape. The sequence of these diverse spaces creates a generous atmosphere, but also with scale and intimacy for the users. The terraces feature intensive planting and are arranged in staggered pairs that spatially connect three storeys.
The load bearing construction with the vault-column structure above two basement levels is 33% lighter and has 35% fewer CO2 emissions than a conventional construction. Here, the vault-column structure makes a significant contribution to sustainability with 66% less mass and 69% fewer CO2 emissions when compared to usual concrete slabs.
Replacement of Hangenmoos Housing Estate
A new housing development on the Hangenmoos site in Wädenswil replaces a predecessor from the 1960s. The elongated three-hectare plot lies adjacent to the historical town centre and is characterised by the orientation towards Zugerstrasse and the sloping terrain to the west.
With the free placement of the buildings in a park-like area, the dense residential development makes reference to the idea of the garden city. The arrangement of the buildings is defined by various factors: the terrain profile, the orientation of the apartments, the view of the lake, the neighbouring buildings and the busy road. Themes such as the continuous, differentiated outdoor space, staggering of volumes, framed and panoramic views determine the composition of the buildings.
Three residential typologies and different apartment contribute to the diversely mixed housing project, which is being realised in stages.
The area is separated from the busy Zugerstrasse by slim, staggered buildings. Here the staircases are arranged along the facade, the living and dining rooms are oriented on both sides, while bedrooms and balconies only face the quiet park.
Placed behind, on the rising hillside and along the quieter Holzmoosrütistrasse, are five to seven storey buildings. Their orientation is guided by the terrain and the view of the lake. These large and prominent structures form the backbone of the new development and have the highest density. Three to six apartments are grouped around an internal access core on each floor. The larger apartments are laid out around a corner or as dually oriented types, the smaller ones face the lake on one side. Despite their limited floor area, a variety of inside and outside views give the apartments depth and generosity. Together with the lower blocks on Zugerstrasse, the large building volumes form a differentiated green space with a network of pedestrian paths.
In the buildings of the third typology, four apartments are planned per floor. The two five-storey buildings are aligned parallel to the terrain’s contour lines and offset from one another. Their cross-shaped floor plan with an internal circulation core offers well-lit and spacious apartments with openings on three sides.
The arrangement and composition of the volumes create a complex of related building structures, which form a whole despite the varied conditions of the site. Multiple visual connections and views open up the outdoor spaces, helping to achieve the intended density with a site-specific scale.
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.
Study Commission 2018
Swiss Museum of Transport – Multi-purpose Building with Exhibition Hall and Offices
