SWISS ARCHITECTS AND INTERIOR

Zentrum Paul Klee. Photo: © Bern Tourismus, swiss-image.ch/Terence du Fresne

The Alpine country of Switzerland sports dozens of innovative, eye-popping buildings and gorgeous interior designs by internationally renowned architects, making it one of Europe’s top architecture meccas. Discover Germany takes a look at which buildings should be visited on your next visit.

TEXT: NANE STEINHOFF I PHOTOS: PIXABAY

Monte Rosa hut. Photo: © Switzerland Tourism, swiss-image.ch/ Christof Sonderegger

There are many reasons to visit Switzerland, including great museums, the natural surroundings, enchanting old towns, bustling city centres, exciting exhibitions or the wonderful food (think chocolate, cheese, wine). However, what many visitors overlook is the wealth of impressive architecture from past and present. After all, in addition to many medieval buildings, the country has a vast range of contemporary architecture on offer. Let us take a look at some of these.

Built in Bern by architect Renzo Piano, this impressive building houses a museum complex which honours artist Paul Klee. Its distinctive look enchants with three steel and glass ‘hills’ and it looks almost like the building grows right out of the grassy field.

The ‘Messe Basel’ can be found in Basel. Built by the famous pair of architects, Herzog & de Meuron, the extension to the Messe Basel exhibition centre has become a trademark of Basel’s cityscape. The star architects replaced two of the older halls with an extension that stacks three new ten-metre-high halls on top of each other. The brushed aluminium clads make this extension a real eye-catcher not to be missed.

Built in 2009 in Zermatt, the ‘Monte Rosa hut’ is a mountain refuge of the special kind. Designed by the ETH Zurich team, it is “Switzerland’s most complex wooden building”, according to them. Not only looking impressive, the Monte Rosa hut also has stainless-steel foundation, an aluminium outer shell and a computer-controlled energy-management system with solar panels. In other words – it combines cutting-edge architecture with sustainable technology.

The five-star luxury hotel’s spa area is something rather extraordinary, visually. Designed in 2003 by Swiss-born Mario Botta and associate architects GPL Tschuggen Arosa Salvatore, the spa area’s outer appearance reminds visitors of the calm and sacredness of the mountain landscape that surrounds the hotel. It needs to be seen to be believed!

In the following special theme, we take a look at some of Switzerland’s top architects, as well as Switzerland’s interior design elite and their impressive projects. Get inspired!

Conversion from 1906 municipal hall to national communication centre, 2019. Photo: Heinz Unger

Factoring in climate preservation and society as the most pressing themes of our time, Oxid Architektur combines the concepts of ‘reuse’ and ‘reduce’, with a specific love for wood and preservation as the most sustainable way of construction.

Mit Klima und Gesellschaft als Hauptthemen unserer Zeit kombiniert Oxid Architektur ‚Re-Use‘ mit ‚Reduce‘, mit einem speziellen Augenmerk auf Holz und dem Umgang mit dem Bestand als nachhaltigste Art zu bauen.

Think, react and create – the Oxid ideology: Oxid Architektur apply an innovative way of “thinking, reacting and creating”, resulting in new and courageous connections with the goal of creating carefully designed living spaces with a strong identity.

The result is both contextual and typology-based architecture, created collectively in an interdisciplinary process based on conceptual strength, structure and expression. Furthermore, all projects carefully draw on the societal context. Architect and partner Yves Schihin explains: “Densification should always keep the social density in mind. Transformation means to reinterpret and apply new thinking with respect for the pre-existing context, which includes accepting imperfection and friction. By way of a strong concept, new identity-forming spaces come to life.”

This ideology is well represented by the conversion of the Zurich municipal centre, the renovation and extension of the Sonnenberg school in Aldiswil, the competition entry for refitting the ‘wall type’ buildings in Inwil, as well as the conversion of the Buck40 commercial building in Zurich and the Winterthur Lokstadthallen.

Founded by Marianne Burkhalter and Christian Sumi in 1984, the office has played a lead role in international modern timber construction from its early beginnings. ‘Burkhalter Sumi Architekten’ was reinforced by Yves Schihin and Urs Rinklef at the start of the new millennium. The quartet continued the co-work on their mutual themes, which have defined the office since its beginnings: wood-based construction and reuse, colour and typology, and residential buildings. Groundbreaking projects were the result, such as the wooden four-storey addition to the Giesshuebel operating building in Zurich, the reconstruction and the ‘backpack’ extension of the Weberstraße high-rise in Winterthur, and the conversion of the former Forsanose chocolate factory into residential lofts in Volketswil.

In 2020, Yves Schihin and Urs Rinklef took over the office, with a new focus on the pressing topics of climate and society. And burkhalter sumi architekten turned into Oxid Architektur.

Oxid Architektur start by analysing the potential and context of the existing structure. They then apply new materials, namely wood, in the line Denken, reagieren, erschaffen – die Oxid-Ideologie: Oxid Architektur agiert mit einer innovativ-interdisziplinären Kombination von „denken, reagieren und erschaffen”. So entstehen neue und mutige Kombinationen mit dem Ziel, umsichtig gestaltete Lebensräume mit starker Identität zu schaffen.

Das Ergebnis ist eine Kontext- und Typologie basierte Architektur, kollektiv in einem interdisziplinären Prozess erdacht und basierend auf starken Konzepten mit Hinblick auf Struktur und Ausdruck. Nicht zuletzt beziehen sich alle Projekte sensitiv auf den gesellschaftlichen Kontext. Architekt und Partner Yves Schihin führt aus: „Verdichtung geschieht unter Berücksichtigung der sozialen Dichte! Transformieren bedeutet dabei umdenken, reinterpretieren, sich auf Vorgefundenes einzulassen, Unvollkommenheit und Reibung auszuhalten. Kontinuität und Identität eines Ortes werden mit robusten Konzepten aufgeladen und vielleicht überformt. Im Bestand werden so neue identitätsstiftende Orte geschaffen.“

Beispiele für diese Philosophie sind Projekte wie die Umnutzung der Stadthalle in Zürich, die Sanierung und Ergänzung des Schulhauses Sonnenberg in Adliswil, ein nachhaltig durchdachter Wettbewerbsbeitrag zur Ertüchtigung von Scheibenhäusern in Inwil, die Transformation des ehemaligen Gewerbehauses ‚Buck40‘ in Zürich mit Glasfassaden und weitläufiger Dachbegrünung, sowie die Umnutzung der Lokstadthallen in Winterthur in Holzbauweise.

Von Marianne Burkhalter and Christian Sumi 1984 gegründet, spielte das Büro Burkhalter Sumi Architekten seit Beginn eine internationale Vorreiter-Rolle in Sachen Holzbauweise. Die Architekten Yves Schihin und Urs Rinklef verstärkten zu Beginn des Millenniums als Partner das Team und das Quartett fuhr fort, sich den gemeinsamen Hauptanliegen zu widmen: Holzbau und Re-Use, Farbe und Typologie sowie dem Wohnungsbau an sich. Es entstanden Projekte nationaler Bedeutung, wie die vier-geschossige Holz-Aufstockung des BahnBetriebsgebäudes im Giesshübel in Zürich, die Sanierung und der rucksackähnliche Anbau des Hochhauses Weberstrasse in Winterthur, oder die Umnutzung der ehemaligen Schokoladenfabrik Forsanose in Loft-Wohnungen in Volketswil.

Oxid Architektur – from a converted storage loft, the team works as a collective entity. Photo: René Dürr

of the ‘reduce’ philosophy of producing as little ‘grey energy’ as possible, thus creating a sustainable entity with strong, identifying characteristics. Both the re-use of existing buildings and the application of wood drastically lower the so-called ‘grey energy’ factor – the energy spent on manufacturing, transportation and disposal. Yves Schihin observes: “The way we use existing buildings is our biggest lever with regards to climate relevance. As they already contain immense amounts of grey energy, we bring new life to a building through restructuring, extensions and additions wherever feasible. Existing structures need preservation! If growth is required, it should be growth within preservation.”

The second lever applied by Oxid to fight CO2 emission and climate change is the simplest, lightest and most sustainable of materials: wood. As a natural source that regrows, wood bears immense potential as a building material – in Switzerland alone, the equivalent of one wooden parallelepiped of 70x70x70-centimetre regrows within one second. The recently finished Waldacker apartment complex in St. Gallen, for example, used 2,500 tonnes of timber – equalling a regrowth duration of only 15 minutes. Furthermore, building timber stores CO2 through the socalled sequestration process, thus binding it for the complete duration of a building’s existence.

Thanks to the easy weight and usage, wood has a low grey-energy factor during production and drying, application and reuse. It is a perfect material for additions and reduces the general load weight on the foundations. As Yves Schihin points out: “Since wood construction is a systemic method, prefabricated modules can be implemented just in time parallel to other processes on the building site, lowering both construction time and emissions in the neighbourhood.”

Last but not least, wood creates a specific identity and warm atmosphere, as demonstrated with the most recent Oxid projects – the Ghiringhelli replacement buildings and the Waldacker development in St. Gallen. Both projects result from competition wins.

By consequently applying the concepts of ‘reuse’ and ‘reduce’, Oxid Architektur tackles the strong architectural themes of our time, where both preservation and the sensible application of regrowing materials are the way into the future. 2020 übernahmen Yves Schihin und Urs Rinklef das Büro mit dem Ziel der weiteren Fokussierung auf die Hauptthemen Klima und Gesellschaft. Aus burkhalter sumi architekten wurde Oxid Architektur.

Oxid Architektur analysieren zunächst das Potential und den Kontext des Bestands. Hinzu kommen dann neue Materialien, insbesondere Holz, die anhand der ‚Reduce‘-Philosophie mit dem Ziel der höchstmöglichen Nachhaltigkeit angewandt werden. So entsteht eine neue, starke Identität.

Sowie die Erhaltung (Re-Use) des Bestands als auch die Verbauung von Holz reduzieren die sogenannte ‚graue Energie‘, die beispielsweise für Fertigung, Transport und Montage oder Abbau verbraucht wird. Yves Schihin erläutert: „Der Umgang mit dem Bestand ist unser größter Hebel in Bezug auf Klimarelevanz, denn im Bestand steckt viel Graue Energie. Diese wiederzuverwenden und den Gebäuden durch Umnutzung, Sanierung, Anbauten und Aufstockungen ein neues Leben zu schenken, sollte wo immer sinnvoll unser Bestreben sein. Bestand braucht Haltung! Wenn Wachstum, dann Wachstum im Bestand!“

Der zweite Ansatz bei Oxid Architekten, um CO2-Emissionen und Klimawechsel aufzuhalten ist das wohl leichteste und gleichzeitig nachhaltigste Baumaterial: Holz. Als schnell nachwachsende Ressource birgt Holz ein immenses Potential für die Zukunft. Allein in der Schweiz wächst innerhalb einer Sekunde ein Holzquader von 70x70x70cm nach. Die gerade fertiggestellte Wohnüberbauung Waldacker verbaute zum Beispiel 2500 Tonnen Holz. Diese Menge entspricht dem Nachwachsen von einer Viertelstunde. Zudem bindet Holz auch in verbauter Weise noch CO2 durch Sequestrierung und verhindert so die CO2Abgabe an die Umwelt, für die gesamte Lebensdauer eines Objektes.

Dank seiner Leichtigkeit und einfachen Verbauung verbraucht Holz an sich extrem wenig Graue Energie für Produktion und Trocknung, Anwendung und Wiederverwertung. Es ist also das perfekte Material für Aufstockungen und reduziert zudem den Lasteintrag in die Fundationen. Yves Schihin fügt weitere Vorteile an: „Die Holzbauweise ist eine systemische Bauweise. Durch Vorfabrikation können Elemente und Raummodule im Werk gefertigt, und zeitgleich mit anderen Prozessen auf der Baustelle montiert werden. Dadurch verringert sich die Bauzeit und damit die Immissionen zur Nachbarschaft.“

Nicht zuletzt verschafft Holz einem Gebäude auch eine spezifische Identität sowie eine warme, angenehme Atmosphäre. Die oben erwähnte Waldacker-Siedlung und die Ersatzneubauten Ghiringhelli in Bellinzona sind aktuelle Beispiele für die Vorteile der Holzbauweise. Beide Projekte resultieren aus gewonnenen Wettbewerben.

Durch die konsequente Anwendung der ‚Re-Use‘ und ‚Reduce‘ Philosophie nimmt sich das Büro mit Umsicht und starken Konzepten den dringendsten Fragen der heutigen Architektur an, für die Erhaltung und durchdachte Anwendung nachhaltiger Materialien den Weg in die Zukunft bedeuten.

Top: Ghiringhelli, Bellinzona – residential replacement buildings with traditional Lombard veranda typology surrounding a courtyard, 1st prize, 2021. Photo: René Dürr. Middle, left: Lokstadthalle Winterthur – conversion of national engine-manufacturing building into hotel and casino, 1st prize, as of 2021. Visualisation: Atelier Brunecky. Bottom, left: Weberstrasse, Winterthur – transformation of 1960 residential high-rise completed by ‘backpack’ extension, 2009. Photo: Heinrich Helfenstein. Right: Buck40 – the transformation of a commercial building with a generous glass facade, atrium and lush roof gardens, 1st prize, as of 2021. Visualisation: Scheitlin Syfrig Architekten

The whole construction is made of 255 components. The cladding components are made of solid larch wood.

TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI | PHOTOS: U15 ARCHITECTES

MINIMHOUSE is a groundbreaking new housing concept developed by U15 Architectes. It stands for made-to-measure, integrative and sustainable housing for all.

Efficient and flexible, as well as socially responsible, the project allows individual living with strong social connections through shared resources, with the goal of both land- and housing ownership, for all social groups. Individually scalable and based on an efficient and direct connection with the natural surroundings, MINIMHOUSE thus presents a new formula for modern housing in dense rural or peri-urban areas.

A 2018 research study by the Federal Office of Culture indicated that 70 per cent of Swiss citizens aspire to live in individual housing. As both an alternative and a complement to the more traditional or vertically orientated designs for urbanisation, rapidly changing conditions require a softer, more integrative living concept with shared land, components and green resources. The pandemic proved another unexpected source of inspiration for MINIMHOUSE: uncovering the questionable economics of commuting and revealing ideas for a new, more locally orientated work-life balance, as well as self-sufficiency.

As an answer to a specific request, U15 Architectes started the MINIMHOUSE project three years ago. Various studies and the completion of the first projects have since demonstrated the feasibility of the concept.

MINIMHOUSE means humanised living efficiently assembled, sustainable and independent. Designed as an ensemble or ‘cluster’, it allows a direct connection to the natural surroundings based on the shared usage of land, water, air and light. Inhabitants occupy the territory progressively and organically, following a concerted approach. Their houses grow from a determined system basis according to their evolving needs. Thus, the concept offers the ideal balance of private and public space.

This new form of processual architecture presents an alternative to the usual collective urbanisation practices in situations of transition between rural and urban spaces. Available in variable sizes, it grows reasonably in proportion to the needs of its inhabitants and is progressively implemented with shared infrastructure. Thus, it responds to the expectations of diversified social groups in a measured way.

MINIMHOUSE attempts to overcome the antagonisms of ‘individual vs. collective’, ‘modest vs. elaborate’, ‘traditional vs. contemporary’ and ‘sustainable vs. performing’: these contradictions are being resolved by combining manifold individualisation options with being part of a holistic social living concept at the same time.

Left: A central technical core organises the basic interior space which can be completed with further partitions and furniture elements. Right: Compositional rules are established in order to propose a scenario for the aggregation of structures on a peri-urban scale.

MINIMHOUSE allows for organically growing ensemble housing by way of components, added to a defined basis. Maximally compact yet individually scalable, living and work areas are grouped around a central tech core. Formally, MINIMHOUSE is a modernised version of a housing-based, parallelepipedic shape with a gable roof – sharing the most expressive elements just as in vernacular architecture. From a catalogue of a limited number of components, the building is planned with the owner, optimising surface, shell and interior organisation through to finish, generating a house of personalised size and cost.

Following the idea of land parsimony and the horizontal vs. the vertical, MINIMHOUSE proposes an alternative to the usual amalgam of form and density. The result is a more organically grown, flatter laid-out but dense community, with a rich social life motivated by co-sharing both land and resources, as opposed to using the land for recreational purposes only.

The project is dedicated to individuals or social groups who are sensitive to the environment and the respectful use of the territory. The light, flexible construction is an ideal solution for all those who wish to become homeowners on enriched and mutualised land. Its final objective is to democratise individual housing by making it accessible to a large number of people.

Architecturally energetic while environmentally and socially efficient, MINIMHOUSE demonstrates that the traditional model of collective housing is not dogmatic and/or irrevocable. Instead, MINIMHOUSE caters to a modern, sustainably-orientated society that favours building and land parsimony, boosts local economy and opts for a return to the land and the development of socially rich and diverse communities.

For 2022, MINIMHOUSE plans various projects for individual, collective and communal housing and aims to develop its first components shop where users will be able to purchase new building parts as needed. This shop is to be managed by local suppliers in addition to their existing businesses – local connection as the key to new holistic living and housing.

www.minimhouse.ch

Left: Different development scenarios are possible depending on the needs of the users. Middle: Predefined components part of the index make up the entire construction. Right: CUBE, the smallest feasible entity. Photo: Studio No3 Alexandre Pierre Albert

Morro Chico – A sustainable new main house and renovated farmstead at the edge of southern Patagonia, Argentina. Photo: © Cristobal Palma

When it comes to meeting the specific needs of contemporary international architecture, RDR architectes build on a meaningful relationship with their clients, skillfully adding that special something which makes a project unique.

TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI

Based on intelligent discussions with their clients regarding their ambitions and means to develop the most appropriate forms, spaces and use of materials, RDR strive to meaningfully respond to the respective ‘brief’ – but also to subtly make it special. Each project searches for this identity in its own way: the SwissTech Convention Center, for example, needed a far stronger formal identity than urban housing which aspires to contribute as much to the well-being of its inhabitants as to the quality of the urban context in which it is inserted.

RDR architectes believe in architecture as a service to society at large. They feel a strong responsibility, not only in providing the spaces and places that their clients hope and pay for, but also towards the rest of society. Architect Kenneth Ross explains: “We do not work around a specific formal style; each project is the result of a quest to solve the specifics of its unique needs.” In the end, each successful proposal is of value because the constraints have been transcended and something meaningful has become apparent. The architect offers: “We place great value in the process as it is fundamental to the resulting building – one cannot attain meaningful results without a carefully managed process.” Based in Lausanne, Buenos Aires and Madrid, RDR have built a strong collaborative architectural practice over the years. Their wide range of projects for both private and public clients, of various sizes, programmes and complexities, have been acquired by winning numerous competitions and direct commissions.

Team leaders, Lausanne office – Kenneth Ross, Hilario Dahl Rocha, Antoine Barc and Frédéric Comby (left to right). Photo: © Mai-Thu Diserens

A multinational company, RDR comprises more than 15 nationalities that perpetuate the

multicultural character contributing to the identity of the group. As Kenneth Ross points out: “This openness to the world underpins the international vocation of RDR architectes.”

Founded in 1993 by Jacques Richter and Ignacio Dahl Rocha, RDR is now led by a new generation of architects who share the founders’ philosophy and are able to draw on a strong base of common experience that has contributed to RDR’s reputation. The group and the Lausanne team are led by Kenneth Ross, Antoine Barc, Frédéric Comby and Hilario Dahl Rocha, while Facundo Morando manages the team in Buenos Aires. More recently, a new team led by José María Gastaldo, Marc López and Alberto Garmendia contribute from the RDR office in Madrid.

Ignacio Dahl Rocha continues to guide and federate architectural thinking, both through his involvement in projects and his academic activities. As for the former partners, Jacques Richter is still very active in the associative and professional circles, while Christian Leibbrandt continues to support the management with advice and experience.

RDR architectes are proud of developing close client relationships built on trust and understanding but also on a shared ambition to aim for better outcomes every time. This approach makes many of their clients come back to them for their next project.

Over the past few years, the office has worked on multiple projects for Nestlé in Switzerland and Europe, developed the Innovation Park and the SwissTech Convention Center on the Campus of the EPFL, and were responsible for the latest three buildings and a Singapore outpost for the renowned IMD business school in Lausanne.

In the housing development sector, most of RDR’s projects are follow-up commissions from clients they initially won through competitions. RDR architectes have also worked with a series of outstanding individuals with whom they have conspired to design and build some truly special places, such as private homes or smaller developments, or even an ambitious farmstead at the very southern edge of Argentine Patagonia.

For the near future, RDR have a diverse number of projects lined up in Switzerland, Argentina and Spain. They feel particularly excited about working on several new housing developments where the challenges of building sustainably require exploring the use of new or alternative materials, technologies or building methods and provide the potential to develop new ways of manifesting these strategies in the building’s expression.

Sustainable strategies are a basic obligation in today’s building requirements. As Kenneth Ross says: “We clearly need to ensure that our buildings have the most positive environmental impact, but must also continue to strive for beauty in the final result.”

www.rdrarchitectes.com

The Convention Centre at the northern entrance of the EPFL Campus. Photo: © Fernando Guerra

The restaurant for Nestlé – the World Food Company. Photo: © Yves André

Beau Séjour – Urbane considerations combine public space within the development of private housing in the centre of Lausanne. Photo: © Yves André La Prairie – Strong identity for the renowned Clinic. Photo: © Yves André

Extension Zurich Stadelhofen station, 2019—2035, competition, 1. Prize. Photo: maaars

Zurich-based Giuliani Hönger Architekten like to compare their projects to a unique, tailor-cut suit, in both the place those projects end up, and their future usage.

TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI | PHOTOS: DAVID WILLEN

Based on the idea of the ‘evolving city’, Giuliani Hönger design reacts to the urban environment and the existing proportions (‘genius loci’), by either acknowledging or challenging them. An open mind is adopted from the beginning – therefore the architects and their team act on the combined principles of an open approach and multiple interpretations.

‘Powerful spaces’, to Giuliani Hönger Architekten, are public interiors with a specific quality of form language that create an identity and offer a relationship to future users. The main design instrument to facilitate this is the section, correlating with the primary structure and always developed in close cooperation with the engineering team. As our times ask for a new interpretation of architecture, their answer can for example be a modern shell with state-of-the-art, climate-friendly technology, or a conserved building, supplemented with a new, cut to measure interior reflecting its future usage.

Lorenzo Giuliani and Christian Hönger discovered their matching interests and approach during the early ‘90s while co-working for Ernst Studer, who held a professorship for design at the ETH Zurich at the time. They have since worked on further evolving the principles of ‘ambiguous typology’ and ‘powerful spaces’ for both their own projects and their teaching. These two guiding aspects function as deal-breakers for design decisions, always tak-

The new University of Applied Sciences Sihlhof, Zürich, 1999—2003, competition, 1. Prize. Photo: Walter Mair

ing the specific interests of their clients and the inspiring ideas of their planning partners into account. As such, all Giuliani Hönger projects are co-developed through a strong, interdisciplinary dialogue.

Giuliani Hönger Architekten have recently won the competition for designing the new University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (FHGR) in Chur. The goal is a new identification point for the Youth of the Grisons, where they “learn to meet the new challenges of contemporary work and employment”.

The architects entered the competition with their ‘Partenaris’ project – a compact, new structure, forming a new ensemble with the existing college buildings and a former switching station and transformer building. The complex borders a park area and will feature a second address towards the park after the second building phase. The new building has two four-storied wings with inner courtyards and a one-storey entry hall set in between, doubling as both a foyer and exhibition space. A part of the ground floor is marked by a large, 1,200 square-metre hall with an unsupported ceiling, housing two multi-functional spaces as well as the student canteen.

As a vivid example of sustainable building principles, the shell will largely be constructed of wood while roofs and facades will feature photovoltaic elements.

Just like the neighbouring Segantini Museum, the new apartment building is directed towards the extraordinary mountainous region and Segantini hut below the Piz Albris peak.

The conical layout creates a broad, viewfacing facade. Housing five apartments and two garages in total, the Casa Giuliani also features a maisonette, ‘folded’ into the two apartments on the upper floors. Facades and roof are clad in natural slate, while specific, funnel-like openings and large windows facilitate an extraordinary view and a rich influx of daylight.

The Office Nord Hilti building in Schaan has just been completed. The structure is placed

2x - The new University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (FHGR), Chur, competition entry ‘Partenaris’, 2021, 1. Prize. Visualisation: maaars

Residential building Surber Burri, Regensberg, 2019—2021, direct commission.

‘Office Nord Hilti’, office building, Schaan, 2017—2021, direct commission.

Residential building ‘Casa Giuliani’, St. Moritz, 2014—2016, direct commission

between park and street, completing the Hilti campus towards the north west. Together with the existing buildings, it forms an interconnected ensemble between park, forecourt and street. The park-facing side features an arcade with conference rooms, and a restaurant. Fixed between shell and core, the support-less decks offer an ‘office landscape’ for flexible usage. In the light court, the interconnected decks invite people to meet and rest.

The rich project scope currently in place at Giuliani Hönger Architekten includes an extension for the Zurich Stadelhofen station, two residential towers with handball arena (‘Pilatus’) in Kriens, a new intensive-care unit and a second clinic building for the Basel University Hospital, as well as the recent challenge of fitting a new apartment house in between the listed Old Town buildings of Regensberg.

Pilatus Arena and residential towers Pilatus, Kriens, 2019—2025, competition, 1. Prize. Photo: maaars