Lokstadt, Plot 1

The unmistakable atmosphere of Sulzer Areal in Winterthur is shaped by the existing buildings, their materials, and the traces of an industrial past. Our aim is to continue the history of this site. The existing scale of the site, the organisational and compositional principles on which it is based, and the integration of important elements of the built legacy constitute the design DNA of our proposal. Analogous to the existing structures we see the new complex of buildings not as a sculpture but as a conglomerate of four individual buildings that are moved beside each other. As well as offering structural analogies, the new buildings also refer to the specific materiality, not by adopting a historicising or visually analogous approach but more by actively translating the material found on the site into a contemporary language.

In both spatial and programmatic terms, the two-storey ground floor zone with hybrid residential and work functions refers to the industrial hall that once existed here and spatially connects the new ensemble of buildings with the ‘Halle Draisine 1007’ and the ‘Halle Habersack 1012’. The kindergarten in Halle 1007 has an outdoor space on the roof. From the second floor upwards there is residential accommodation in all parts of the complex. In ‘Bigboy’ up to ten dwelling units per storey are reached from a joint circulation core that has a generous entrance hall at ground floor level. In the ‘Tender Tower’ up to three or four dwelling units per floor are reached via a joint core, while in the lower ‘Tender Block’ each staircase serves three to four dwelling units. The narrow courtyard between the existing Halle 1007 and the new buildings recalls similar intermediate spaces that once existed on the site. It is a kind of informal access and passageway that connects the public lanes, courtyards, and squares on the new site.

The expression of the four buildings uses present-day means to relate to the history of the site. On the courtyard side Halle 1007 is given a plain facade of yellowish brickwork with concrete lintels. The continuous layer of balconies in the low, flat ‘Tender Block’ emphasises the horizontal. The two tall buildings are formulated in much the same way as each other. Clad with grey concrete elements, the edges of the floor slabs form continuous horizontals, between which a complex mesh is woven that is made up of vertical concrete parts of different widths faced with rust-red brickwork together with reddish-brown coloured parapets and lintels. In formal terms large windows, delicate metalwork and textile sun protection connect the three parts of the new building.