Cargo / group8
group8 settled down in its new workspace on May 20 2010. A former industrial hall, near the center of Geneva (Switzerland), hosts these new offices designed in order to make the best use of the 780 sqm and the 9m of height. This white and luminous space contains a hidden treasure: 16 recycled shipping containers. All of which have been traveling across the world for thousands of kilometers over the oceans of the globe. Piled up as giant Legos, the containers were preserved “as found” without any outside cosmetic transformation. This aesthetic keeps the poetry of their former use and differentiates them from the immateriality of the big neutral space they lie in. Realistically, the use of containers represents a gain of about 200 sqm, while making good use of the height within the space.
Architect: group8
Location: 37, chemin Philibert-de-Sauvage,1219 Châtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
Civil Engineer: T-Ingénierie SA
Acoustical Engineer: D’Silence acoustique
Furniture: Dynamobel
Project Area: 780 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Régis Golay, FEDERAL Studio
‘Jean Prouvé Architecture’, at the Galerie Patrick Seguin
For the first time in public, the Galerie Patrick Seguin will present live, every day, the set up of a Jean Prouvé 6×6 meter demountable bungalow, created for the war victims in Lorraine.
Indeed, a team composed of 3 persons will take care of the set up of this reference of demountable architecture on the booth on a daily basis – from 11am to 7pm – unveiling each day the absolute modernity of this project. At night, a second team will be in charge of the taking down and crating of each of the elements composing the house (portal frame and ridge beam, exterior joint covers, facade panels, metal floor structure…)
For the nocturne on Thursday 16 June the gallery will organize the set up, dismantling, and crating all in one day. More information and images after the break.
Negrellisteg / Explorations Architecture
Paris based designers, Explorations Architecture, have recently won the international competition to design the Negrellisteg pedestrian walkway in downtown Zurich. For more images of the work and a brief explanation follow after the break.
Video: Rolex Learning Center / SANAA
This short video by architectural photographer Pedro Kok, features the Rolex Learning Center at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. Designed by SANAA, the building features impressive concrete lines that create a fluidity between the interior spaces.
What Anchors a House in Itself / Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler
Architects Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler recently published a monograph detailing seven buildings and their design philosophy. It is easy to get caught up in the mesmerizing images of this book. With little more than plywood and concrete, they bring spaces to life in a way that few can. They demonstrate how “spatial quality is by no means merely an issue of the materials employed.” That being said, make sure you pull yourself away from the images as the text should not be missed. Besides their own contributions, other authors include, Kurt W. Forster, Marie Theres Stauffer, Gianni Jetzer, and Hubertus Adam.
More on the monograph after the break.
Sow Geneva / SAOTA, SRA Kössler & Morel Architects
Architects: SAOTA (Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects) with SRA Kössler & Morel Architects
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
SAOTA Project Team: Stefan Antoni, Greg Truen & Juliet Kavishe
SRA Project Team: Karin Fatio & Pierre Kössler
Interior design: Antoni Associates – Mark Rielly
Project area: 2,800 sqm
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Stefan Antoni
Luzern Stadtarchiv / XTEN Architecture
The Luzern Stadtarchive is conceived as a marker in the landscape. XTEN Architecture‘s entry for a library competition in Switzerland the design was driven by orienting the public areas to the landscape, the site topography and adjacent mountains.
Architects: XTEN Architecture
Location: Luzern, Switzerland
Principals: Monika Haefelfinger & Austin Kelly
Project Team: Scott Utterstrom, Jae Rodriguez, Tina Rothermund, Annie Ritz, Qichen Cao
Project Area: 4,750 sqm
Renderings: Courtesy of XTEN Architecture
Vocational Education Center / Durisch + Nolli Architetti
Architects: Durisch + Nolli Architetti
Location: Gordola, Switzerland
Client: Società Svizzera Impresari Costruttore
Project area: 9,328 sqm
Project year: 2004 – 2010
Photographs: Durisch + Nolli Architetti
Centre for Hearing and Language / e2a
Architects: e2a – Wim Eckert, Piet Eckert
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Project Team: Hans-Peter Kistler, Sebastian Holzhausen
Construction Management: Oppliger von Gunten, Zürich
Structure: Walt + Galmarini, Zürich
HVAC: Rechberger Huustechnik, Zürich
Electric engineering: Thomas Lüem Partner AG, Zürich
Project year: 2009
Photographs: Radek Brunecky, Dominique Marc Wehrli
GSC House / e2a
Architects: e2a – Wim Eckert, Piet Eckert
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Project Team: Markus Giera, Hans-Peter Kistler, Harris Illiadis
Landscape: Vogt Landschaftsarchitektur, Zürich
Construction Management: Oppliger von Gunten, Zürich
Structure: Walt + Galmarini, Zürich
HVAC: Rechberger Huustechnik, Zürich
Electric engineering: IBG Engineering, Winterthur
Project year: 2008
Photographs: Radek Brunecky
School Centre In Opfikon / e2a
Architects: e2a – Wim Eckert, Piet Eckert
Location: Opfikon, Switzerland
Project Team: Susanne Mocek, Markus Giera, Hans-Peter Kistler, Thorsten Haack
General Contractor: HRS Real Estate AG, Zürich
Landscape: Hager Landschaftsarchitektur AG, Zürich
Construction Management: Caretta Weidmann Baumanagement, Zürich
Structure: Dr. Lüchinger + Meyer AG, Zürich
HVAC: Basler & Hoffmann Ingenieure und Planer AG, Zürich
Building Physics/Acoustics: Leuthardt + Mäder, Brüttisellen
Façade Engineering: Müller Buri GmbH, Muri
Photographs: Radek Brunecky
Lakeside House In Zurich / e2a
Architects: e2a - Wim Eckert, Piet Eckert
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Project Team: Samuel Benz, Stefan Berle, Bryan Graf
Construction Management: Witzig Architekten GmbH, Zurich
Structure: Marti + Dietschweiler AG, Maennedorf
Landscape: Beat Nipkow, Landschaftsarchitekt BSLA SIA, Zurich
Building Physics: Leuthardt + Mäder, Ingenieurbüro für Bauphysik + Akustik, Brüttisellen
Electro Engineering: R+B engineering ag, Zürich
HVAC: Gruenberg + Partner, Zürich
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Radek Brunecky
Dress Code / Complex City
Olivier Brouillard, from Complex City, shared the design of Dress Code, an elementary school designed for the community of Fréchy, Switzerland, an area surrounded by farming and nearby hills. Under the idea that once the program and the function are defined, the architect’s job consists in dressing up architecture; Dress Code was conceived. It gives a major importance to the facades and to the way the building is seen externally. Visual communication is a key point, especially considering that school is the first source of knowledge for youngsters.More images and project description after the break.
Heerenschürli Sports Facilities / Dürig AG + Topotek 1
Architects: Dürig AG
Location: Helen Keller Strasse 20, 8051 Zürich, Switzerland
Landscape Architects: Topotek 1
Client: The City of Zürich, represented by: Grün Stadt Zürich, Immobilien-Bewirtschaftung, Amt für Hochbauten
Project area: 100,200 sqm
Project year: 2004-2010
Photographs: Hanns Joosten, Ruedi Walti
Multigenerational Building in Gland / SM-arch
The young architecture firm of SM-arch has recently won a architectural competition for their Multigenerational building proposal in Gland, Switzerland. They are now engaged with the municipality for the execution of the project. Additional images and a brief narrative from the architects after the break.
House In Sedrun / Flavio Loretz
Architects: Flavio Loretz
Location: Sedrun, Switzerland
Project area: 230 sqm
Project year: 2008
Photographs: Nadine Andrey, Flavio Loretz
Westside Bruennen / Daniel Libeskind
Architects: Daniel Libeskind
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Project area: 1,5 million sq. ft.
Project year: 2008
Photographs: Daniel Libeskind
Primary school in Rafz / kit
Swiss architects kit shared with us their project “Learn-scape”, a primary school and kindergarten in Rafz, Switzerland. More images and architect’s description after the break.
Erlenbach Cemetery Building / AFGH
The Erlenbach Cemetery Building houses the visitor area facilities for the Erlenbach cemetery. Designed by AFGH, architects Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler, the building includes a room for ceremony services, two vigil rooms, a waiting room, and porch services. Follow the break for more photographs and drawings of this project.
Architects: AFGH
Location: Erlenbach, Switzerland
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Valentin Jeck
Grieder House / AFGH
The residence in Küsnacht near Zurich is a late work of the Swiss architect Theodor Laubi, built in 1956 on a plot of land with an ample garden and flanked by a forest. After several changes of owners and their corresponding conversions and extensions the house had lost its original modernistic character.
In 2005 the residence was fortunately taken over by new owners (a young couple – a gallery owner and an artist) who recognised the potential of the house. The opening of a gallery for contemporary art in the ground floor not only revitalised the house but also transformed it into a partial, semi-public building that profited the whole surrounding residential area.
Architects: AFGH
Location: Lärchentobelstrasse 25, CH 8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland
Client: Damian Grieder, Melanie Swarovski
Planners: Reto Bonomo, Rüdingen
Cooperation: Carlo Fumarola
Project Area: 670 sqm
Project Year: 2005-2006
Photographs: Valentin Jeck
Enea Headquarters / Oppenheim Architecture + Design
The project, located at the shores of the Obersee in Switzerland, will house the headquarters of the internationally recognized landscape architecture firm Enea Garden Design. It emerges from the site as a wooden volume, discrete and elegant, and blends with the landscape as it responds to the natural environment, boundary lines and zoning conditions. After the break are drawings and photographs of this new headquarters.
Architects: Oppenheim Architecture + Design
Location: Jona, Switzerland
Project Team: Chad Oppenheim, Juan Calvo, Juan López, Santhosh Shanmugam and, Beat Huesler
Project Area: 30,000 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Renderings: Oppenheim Architecture + Design
Photos: Martin Rütschi
