Fischer Architekten
Conversion Octavo II
best architects 23
renovation and addition
Place
Zurich, Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Gerry Amstutz
Description
The central building in a development dating from 2004
is a rigid column-slab structure with two circulation cores. The task set in
the competition included a necessary renovation of the façade and the
integration of forms of housing in a basic structure that was not, in fact,
designed for this purpose. In dealing with this challenge the two circulation
cores are left where and how they are. They divide the conversion into three
parts: The two ends with staircases, each positioned on a street, are high points
that form addresses and have apartments of the same kind on all floors. On the
upper floors, the central part of the building is reached from an internal
access deck on the north side. On the ground floor there are potential studio
apartments entered directly from the street, while the maisonette apartments on
the third and fourth floors form a recessed rooftop level. Loggias articulate
the façade and provide a protected outdoor space for every apartment. The
simple but harmonious materialisation preserves the character of the former
office building. Glass blocks and cast floors suit the place and its history.
In the façade, the basic concept of different treatment according to
orientation to the public space is preserved. A new complementary colour scheme
distinguishes the building from its neighbours. Through its playful horizontal
and vertical lines, the combed finish of the very coarse modelling render
animates the grey-green representative façade.