With the old building of the St. Jakob Foundation, the matter was simple: bad architecture, of course. A glance was enough – this construction from the late 70s to the firm road behind the Stauffacher, old and grey and cold and ugly. Of a “brutal-seventies modernist seat,” wrote the magazine “Hochparterre”. The wording’s pretty much it.
The new building of the Foundation in the circuit 5 makes the thing much heavier. New and colorful and also a bit irritating. But also beautiful? Or good? Or even beautiful and good?
In the roughly two years of construction, erected on a formerly dusty Parking lot, an eight-storey commercial building: a Sub – two Base levels, on which a further five floors. The construction dates of Caruso St John Architects, London architects with the Zurich branch, which have been built in the Europaallee and the plan, the new Zurich football stadium (alone) and the football stadium on the hard tower (together with other Zurich-based architectural office). You have then won the competition on invitation.
400 people work here
The building plays with our expectations: the bottom of trades and shops, Living upstairs. However, is not true. Even if the upper floors with loggias sure coveted city hergäben apartments: only worked.
idea comes from a house in Salamanca: The plate of large scallops on the concrete facade. Image: Urs Jaudas
More than 400 people with disabilities in the St. Jakob Foundation of employees here. Bake in the ground floor of the viaduct street, well visible to the pedestrian croissants, occupy sandy hare jerk or finished chocolate. You can buy the front of the Café Köbi. In the Shot about bulk mailings are prepared, the files are digitised, the seat surfaces of chairs re-braided or electronic parts soldered together. In the attic floor are the offices of the administration, as well as the canteen.
all this Is nice? Is it good for?
we Tell so: The new building makes it quite easy to discover its beauty. Because both the Red of the upper floors as well as the Yellow of the Loggia in front of the Café Köbi is a matter of taste. Because of the commercial character of the base compared to the old viaduct arches unusual. But if you look closer, you will discover you are quite the beauty.
in the Details such as the slightly curved fibre reinforced concrete panels above the Windows, under the awning. And then the plate of the great Jacob, as well as mussels, on the concrete facade against the Heinrich road. The Logo of the Foundation is solid and made from a casting with prefabricated concrete parts. The idea came from a house in Salamanca, the Casa de las Conchas. The Palace was the end of the 15. Century, its facade is adorned by more than shells 300 Jacob; they are a Symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In Zurich there are “only” just over 100 of these shells, but if the weather is fine your shadow is on the concrete facade is impressive.
a Lot more space than in the past
if you Believe the trade press, then the construction is more than good: The “high-ground” about describes the commercial as “a strong character” he “for successful urban development”. The magazine “Archithese” sees in it an example of “targeted architectural interventions by unimaginative new buildings are sterile and can be revived to become the quarter back”.
The employees like the new building, at the St. Jakob Foundation. Because you have light jobs, and much more space than in the past. So it is definitely good architecture: The users you like.
As a pedestrian you will notice the road of the profit for the Viaduct. Sure, the Parking lot also had its appeal, as a temporary, ungestalteter, raw free space in the middle of the city. But a lasting is for the arches better. Even if it is irritated in the Moment a little.
(Tages-Anzeiger)
Created: 29.01.2019, 13:12 PM
