ARGE Baumberger & Stegmeier / KilgaPopp

Description

The former Sulzer industrial site in the centre of Winterthur is being transformed into a new urban district. All project decisions were aimed at supporting the unity and uniqueness of the site through subtle further development. A ring of peripheral, street-side buildings with bosquets now forms the transition between the different urban planning scales around the former industrial site and the volumetric structure within the site. The row of buildings from 1885 on Jägerstrasse, which once functioned as a portal, is one of the oldest ensembles on the site and lends it an identity through temporal and spatial permanence. Consequently, these existing buildings were the starting point for an urban planning and architectural transformation process from industrial warehouses to contemporary townhouses. The heritage buildings were extended in length and height by adding 17 new individual townhouses layered and staggered behind them to activate the spatial depth of the site. By incorporating urban planning, geometric and tectonic themes from the existing ensemble into the new structures and orienting those used as residences and studios towards Jägerstrasse, an urban balance is created within the row of buildings as well as with the workers’ housing opposite. The façades facing Jägerstrasse reflect the different construction stages, while the corner façade emphasises the two main entrances to the district.