Michael Meier und Marius Hug Architekten: Säntishalle Arbon - best architects 13

Michael Meier und Marius Hug Architekten

Säntishalle Arbon

best architects 13

public buildings

Place

Zürich

Photos

Roman Keller

Description

The new building is designed and scaled to fit in matter-of-factly with the densely developed area surrounding it, characterised by a diverse mixture of residential and industrial structures. Its architectural expression plainly manifests its use-oriented connection to the schoolhouse, while its solid, structurally related facade texture makes a direct reference to that of the school. To span the gym efficiently, the top storey acts in the transverse direction as a floor-high truss. Ceiling and floor form the compression/ tension chords here, while the wall slabs between the classrooms act as shear walls. These wall slabs at the same time form the spatial structure for the classrooms and auxiliary rooms. The gym ceiling is suspended from the cross-walls of the upper floor. The ceiling of the multipurpose room bears the loads of the outer walls and the facade supports.