In the phase of interim use, the art institutions in the former beer brewery Löwenbräu planned a café on the roof terrace of the historic building. The intention was to provide a public space for the district, which at the time was still of predominantly industrial character. Together with the text installation by Jenny Holzer, the added construction would mark the shared entrance and point to the Kunsthalle in particular.
The elongate, slender box hovers above the erstwhile workshops, protrudes into the street space and acts as a signal. In analogy to the nearby bridges and viaducts, it is conceived as a prefabricated steel frame resting on few supports. A wooden room is inserted into the frame. The structure of steel and wood stands in contrast to the materials of the existing building with its red and yellow brick facade. From the inside, floor-to-ceiling “display windows” offer views out to Limmatstrasse, where passers-by on the street catch glimpses of the interior.
The subsequent comprehensive renovation and extension of the entire premises made the project redundant.
