Schoolhouse Grono / Raphael Zuber
Architects: Raphael Zuber
Location: Grono, Switzerland
Project Management: Thomas Melliger – Bauplanung, Zürich
Collaborators: David Gianinazzi, Kosuke Yutani
Client: Comune politico di 6537 Grono
Year: 2011
Photographs: Javier Miguel Verme
Cattaneo / Holzer Kobler Architekturen
Architects: Holzer Kobler Architekturen
Location: Dietikon, Zurich, Switzerland
Client: Reppisch-Werke AG
Area: 6500.0 sqm
Year: 2008
Photographs: Jan Bitter
Housing in Nyon / Charles Pictet Architecte
Architects: Charles Pictet Architecte
Location: Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland
Year: 2012
Photographs: Thomas Jantscher
Chalet in Les Diablerets / Charles Pictet Architecte
Architects: Charles Pictet Architecte
Location: Les Diablerets, Vaud, Switzerland
Year: 2008
Photographs: Thomas Jantscher
Limmat Footbridge and Promenade Lift / Leuppi & Schafroth Architekten
Architects: Leuppi & Schafroth Architekten
Location: Ennetbaden, Switzerland
Architect In Charge: R. Matthias Leuppi, Stephanie M. Schafroth
Year: 2007
Photographs: Roger Frei
AD Classics: Centre Le Corbusier (Heidi Weber Museum) / Le Corbusier
Iconic for its floating steel roof and brightly colored panels, the Centre Le Corbusier is the last building Le Corbusier designed before his death in 1965. Completed in 1967, the building stands as a testament to Corbusier’s renaissance genius as an architect, painter, and sculptor. It does so both intentionally, as it is an exhibition space for his life’s work, and naturally, as it is a building masterfully designed. Interestingly, the building diverges in some ways from the style responsible for his renown – concrete, stone, uniform repetition, etc. It celebrates the use of steel, with which he explored prefabrication and assembly, and a freedom through modularity, in which the plan is completely open but infinitely adaptable.
Housing and Shops / Christ & Gantenbein
Architects: Christ & Gantenbein
Location: Erlenbach, Switzerland
Architect In Charge: Emanuel Christ, Christoph Gantenbein
Design Team: Mona Farag (associate), Laura Schneider, Sven Richter (project management), Petra Jossen, Thomas Gläss, Christoph Bedall
Year: 2012
Photographs: Walter Mair
AZPA to Transform Nineteenth Century Building into Locarno Film Festival Headquarters
London and Barcelona-based practice AZPA (Alejandro Zaera-Polo Architecture) has been announced as winner of an international competition aimed to establish a permanent residence for the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. Breaking away from the starchitect notion of public architecture needing to make an “extravagant gesture”, AZPA’s innovative proposal partakes in an act of “urban recycling” by reusing the pre-existent, nineteenth century structure of Piazza Castello and transforming its interior courtyard into three sizable theaters. Additionally, a complimentary renovation will take place on the surrounding Piazza Remo Rossi, which will be repaved with red natural stone that essentially provides a “permanent red carpet” qualified to host an array of festival related events.
As Architect Alejandro Zaera-Polo describes: “I do not want to redraw the city, but keep the city.”
AZPA’s winning design not only preserves and capitalizes on the existing integrity of the city, but the strategies employed makes this an economically viable solution. With an estimated price tag of 28 million Swiss Francs, this renovation is said to be no more than the cost of a complete demolition.
More on AZPA’s winning proposal after the break.
MIV Villa / Andrea Pelati Architecte
Architects: Andrea Pelati Architecte
Location: Neuchatel, Switzerland
Project Team: Andrea Pelati, Raphaël Fromaigeat, Anna Popek-Schmalstieg, Sandy Erlebach
Project Consultants: GVH SA – civil engineers
Year: 2010
Photographs: Thomas Jantscher
Clottu Villa / Andrea Pelati Architecte
Architects: Andrea Pelati Architecte
Location: Cornaux, Switzerland
Project Team: Andrea Pelati, Raphaël Fromaigeat, Anna Popek-Schmalstieg, Sandy Erlebach
Project Consultants: GVH SA – Civil Engineers
Area: 219 sqm
Year: 2010
Photographs: Thomas Jantscher
House Erlenbach / Spillmann Echsle
Architects: Spillmann Echsle
Location: Erlenbach, Switzerland
Year: 2010
Photographs: Roger Frei
Haus am Bach / Dolmus Architekten
Architects: Dolmus Architekten
Location: Lucerne, Switzerland
Architect In Charge: Gani Turunc, Cédric von Däniken, Miriam Egger, Marco Cappuccini
Area: 750.0 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Martin Guggisberg, Aytac Pekdemir
Vorwerk Uster / Spillmann Echsle
Architects: Spillmann Echsle
Location: Uster, Switzerland
Project Leader: Simone Retter
Client: Trümper AG
Year: 2010
Photographs: Roger Frei
House Uesslingen / Spillmann Echsle Architekten
Architects: Spillmann Echsle Architekten
Location: Iselisbergstrasse, Uesslingen-Buch, Switzerland
Architect In Charge: Monika Moor
Construction Management: Haeni Baumanagement, Uesslingen
Main Constructor: Kaufmann Oberholzer, Schönenberg
Year: 2008
Photographs: Roger Frei
Gümligenpark New Credit Suisse Backoffice / Burckhardt+Partner
Architects: Burckhardt+Partner
Location: Muri bei Bern, Switzerland
Client: HRS Real Estate AG
Area: 22,400 sqm
Year: 2012
Photographs: Croci & Du Fresne, Carmela Ordoni
Zoo Basel Ozeanium 2nd Prize Winning Proposal / HHF & Burckhardt + Partner
HHF & Burckhardt + Partner shared with us their second prize winning proposal for the Zoo Basel Ozeanium, which is embedded in the city and used as a park by residents and visitors. The proposed Ozeanium accommodates the scale of the surrounding buildings, such as the Rialto swimming pool, the market hall and the tall buildings on the city ring. The striking, confident construction volume is a clear indication of what an attraction this will be, enriching the city in a central location. The redesigning of the green area Nachtigallenwäldeli and the construction of the new Ozeanium, an ocean aquarium, on the Heuwaage are bringing the zoo and the park area even closer to the city center, to form an attractive living environment and recreational area. More images and architects’ description after the break.
New Crematorium in the Hörnli Cemetary Competition Entry / Josep Ferrando, David Recio, Rafael Aliende
The proposal by Josep Ferrando, David Recio, and Rafael Aliende for the new crematorium in the Hörnli cemetery respects the identity of the protected existing building while establishing a void between it and the upper street level, an “entrance space”. This “empty-built” space between the two buildings, the existing one and the new one, becomes the entry square because of their connection in the underground level. This way, the new building appears as a visually independent and representative piece, isolated among the trees. More images and architects’ description after the break.
UPDATE: Boltshauser Architekten Wins Competition To Design Basel Aquarium
As a follow up to our recent post on the recent win by Boltshauser Architekten for their Basel Aquarium design in Switzerland, we wanted to share with you the other entries by Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield Architects and Caruso St John Architects. Zaha Hadid’s ‘Blue Cave,’ while praised for its excellent quality, was criticised for its thin visitor aisles; the jury felt the “dynamic” styling of the building’s interior would have been in competition with the aquariums, and so the project came in third out of the 15 shortlisted entries. More information and images on the other entries, after the break.
The New Toni-Areal in Zürich West
The Toni-Areal is a crucial part of the plan to breathe new life into Zürich West. The building was formerly a milk processing facility, and the new design by architecture firm EM2N features spaces for cultural events, as well as the Zürich University of the Arts and two departments of the Zürich University of Applied Sciences.
The Toni-Areal is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken in Zürich and will be the largest construction site in Switzerland during its realization phase. The total usable floor space is 108,500 m2, of which the colleges comprise 84,500 m2. The remaining 23,500 m2 are dedicated to housing, cultural events, restaurants, and small retail shops, as well as parking and technology. The construction price—including basic upgrades and tenant upgrades—amounts to about 350 million Swiss francs.
Sponsored by Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc.
Boltshauser Architekten Wins Competition To Design Basel Aquarium
Swiss architecture practice, Boltshauser Architekten, recently won an international competition to design a new aquarium in the center of Basel, Switzerland. Their concept, titled ‘Seacliff’, was noted by jury members as being the best match for the public image cultivated by the Basel Zoo. The above-ground building space proposed by Boltshauser was smaller than any of the other competition entries, offering the best solution from an urban development perspective. Beating out such prominent firms as Zaha Hadid Architects, David Chipperfield Architects, and Caruso St John Architects, Boltshauser’s winning project is due for completion in 2019 with an estimated cost of £54 million. More images and information after the break.
