Our design is an articulated construction meant for the enjoyment of the spaces for many years to come.
From afar the building is a marker in the landscape, it expresses a meaning already suggested by its context. From close up, it is a collection of many things and from within, a world, that changes with the passing of the hours of the day and the days of the year.
Swiss House Rossa represents the constant commitment to build with respect for the places we inhabit and to make every effort in helping our understanding of civilisation. This is an opera that lies on the cusp between art and architecture, a living sculpture. Alongside its primary role in protecting man from the elements, it is an architecture that needs art to complete it.
Tags: Graubunden, Switzerland Comments Off on SWISSHOUSE ROSSA IN GRAUBÜNDEN, SWITZERLAND BY DANIEL BUREN AND DAVIDE MACULLO, IN COLLABORATION WITH MARIO CRISTIANI, GALLERIA CONTINUA
Designed originally for construction workers of the railroad connecting Montreux to the Rochers-de-Naye, this modest house was built in 1911 with large stone blocks found in the ground dug for the rail. Constructed on a sloping hillside, lined with a terraced garden, it offers a breathtaking view of the Alps, Lake Geneva and the Riviera.
When you think of a call centre you probably picture a line of people seated in row upon row of desks in a featureless back room. But call centres are changing. In many companies, they are now the first point of contact with customers and are increasingly important in growing new business and ensuring customer satisfaction. High tech and fast paced, with multiple contact points from email and messaging systems to video and voice calls, they also require motivated and well-trained staff. As companies recognise their growing importance, the boiler room approach is disappearing and call centres are beginning to morph into a corporate centrepiece.
The urban regeneration and traffic calming project for the new “Spazio Incontro” at Sonvico is part of a wider masterplan for the Dino and Sonvico areas. The underlying concept that informs the general project can be summarized in five points:
Identifying an independent pedestrian route separate from the Cantonal road
Improving and redeveloping the pedestrian route that runs through the entire area
Marking the route with consistent materials so that it is easily legible
Redevelop the public realm and pedestrian routes as tools for mitigating car traffic
Improve, where necessary, the availability of services and urban infrastructure (parking, benches, new public spaces).
In 2013, the political commune of Weinfelden arranged an open architectural competition for a new single building to house the fire brigade and the Samaritan emergency services; their resources had up until then been distributed over various locations. Out of the 58 participants, it was the «Grisu» project by kit that was the winner. The jury praised the project as a cultivated industrial building. It stands out through its architectural precision and the impact it has in enhancing the overall urban impression of the route into Weinfelden. At the same time, the new building superbly fulfils all the functional requirements of the various blue-light organisations.
At the settlements edge of the resort of Lenzerheide in the Swiss Alps a breath taking site reveals outstanding views. The existing structure built in the late forties of the last century does not fit the requirements of the family and a new programme leads its replacement.
On the ground floor the main operation consists in adding the volume of the f ormer garage to the living room area and therein placing the new kitchen. Not only provides this transformation the required additional living space, but also the whole spatial organisation and the visual relations are completely redefined. Previously, the entrance, the kitchen and the living romm were rather disjoined from each other. Now they come together in a generous spatial entity which is articulated by the new kitchen. The floor of the former garage is a worktop-hight below the living room. This difference is preserved, which results in the worktop being on the same level as the ground floor. The sunken position of the kitchen generates interesting and surprising visual relations. Materialized in concrete and massive oak, the kitchen is both a structural element and a spatial piece of furniture. The entrance receives a sober overhaul and a modest wardrobe in order to clean up the previous spatial Situation.
The main assembly hall of the former Burckhardt machine factory in Basel, Switzerland, has been used as an event space over the years. With a new tenant (launchlabs.ch) the structure is now additionally requested to serve as a multifunctional working environment.
This primary school is the first project of our young architecture office.
The square. Built as a very compact structure, the new primary school inserts itself into the village. Regarding its scale and position the building conveniently interacts with the existing school and the smaller village housing. The project offers a whole new public space that provides a renewed articulation between the school center and the village. Taking advantage of the two different levels between the schoolyard and the village square, the underground lobby connects the old school to the new one.