SAM Architekten und Partner
Vorderer Sternen
best architects 14 in Gold
office/administrative buildings
Place
Zürich/Schweiz
Studio
Photos
Roger Frei
Description
The setting is extremely public and very sensitive to structural interventions. Bellevue Square, now paved in stone, is where events, festivals and major occasions in Zurich take place. This is where the Stadelhofer Vorstadt area becomes accessible at the city level for pedestrians coming from the lake, one of the original qualities of this quarter. We build a house made of stone. The butt-jointed »Travertino Romano Chiaro« stone covering the entire facade in vertical thin plates, along with horizontal elements aligned with the floor bands of the neighbouring buildings, lends the building in this exposed setting the desired noble air and precision feel. The travertine is accompanied by brass frames for the box windows, fittings and railings. Thus materialised, the building inserts itself into the existing ensemble and radiates an independence befitting its site. Two key neighbours in the urban setting, the House on Bellevue and Odeon House, are important components in the spatial development of Bellevue Square. The new Vorderer Sternen building completes the ensemble. The restaurant interiors were realised in collaboration with the interior design studio »atelier zürich«.