Michael Meier und Marius Hug Architekten . photos: © Roman Keller
The Bleicherweg connects Paradeplatz in the centre of Zurich with Bahnhof Enge. The narrow side of the property at Bleicherweg 62 abuts Bleicherweg and articulates a symmetrical display façade. The volume develops along Servitusweg in height, stepped back into the depth of the courtyard. It is a renovation of a property built in the 1970s. The shell of the building is the starting point for the elaboration and structuring of the façade.
With its stone material, regular façade design and tectonic shape, the commercial building on Bleicherweg takes on the character of the representative Wilhelminian style façades in the neighbourhood. The front layer of the façade consists of pilaster strips, architrave and cornice made of prefabricated concrete elements and gompholite (Nagelfluh).
The finely structured window frames are made of anodised aluminium. With its structure and expression, the façade is based on the office buildings of Otto Rudolf Salvisberg and Roland Rohn standing in close vicinity. The new stone appearance of concrete and gompholite gives the building a representative character and does justice to its location in downtown Zurich. Gompholite as a building material has a great tradition in various regions. In the Zurich area, however, it is rarely used. It is a natural building material with an extraordinary expression and was originally called “Hergottsbeton” – the natural concrete.
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Bleicherweg, Zürich
Complete renewal of a commercial building
2016 – 2018
