The new L-shaped office building opposite the Tonhalle on the corner of Gotthardstrasse and Claridenstrasse is integrated into the perimeter block structure along Claridenstrasse, while Villa Rosau and its surrounding gardens remain true to their historical conception. The green area forms a twin garden with the park of the Hotel Baur au Lac on the opposite side of the Schanzengraben canal. The newbuild marks the westerly end of the two gardens, whose beautiful trees border the public square Bürkliplatz.
The parks of Villa Rosau and Hotel Baur au Lac on Lake Zurich are important witnesses to the history of the city’s development. The gardens flow around the villa and the new building, merging the perimeter block development with the solitary villa in the park to form a coherent ensemble. This convergence of architectural and organic garden design is a central theme, which assists the organization of the green space into different zones.
The new building offers the future long-term tenant, a banking firm, a prestigious place of business. Customers are received in an entrance hall situated in the part of the building facing the lake, from where they are accompanied to a lounge on the fourth floor, where several consultation rooms are at their disposal. An open staircase leads to the customer area on the third floor, with larger consultation rooms and conference rooms with vistas across the lake. Adjacent to the entrance hall on the ground floor is the bank’s seminar area, with an auditorium that seats 120 guests. At the corner of Gotthardstrasse and Claridenstrasse, a bakery with outdoor seating is planned, while two apartments are housed in the top two levels of the building section facing the Schanzengraben canal.
The structure is a skeleton frame with recessed columns and centrally located reinforcing concrete circulation cores. Vertical and horizontal profiles of architectural bronze arranged in varying rhythms articulate the façade. They take up, on a larger scale and with greater geometric regularity, the existing ornamental wrought-iron fences surrounding the gardens.
