Düngerbau
Uetikon am See, Switzerland 2022–present
Client: Mettler2Invest AG Historic monument
Built in 1896, the Düngerbau is a part of the historic Chemical Factory Uetikon that has occupied the site on the bank of Lake Zurich since the middle of the 19th century. The building formerly produced fertilisers using chemicals that were so aggressive that timber was the only material sufficiently resistant to form its elaborate structure.
Within a site strategy that we developed for the client, to introduce new housing and workspace onto this large lakeside site, the Düngerbau building, along with a proposed new school to the west, provides the public focus for the area. The programme has been developed in partnership with the local authority, and in addition to workshops, offices and places to eat, a large multifunctional public meeting hall is placed at the centre of the ground floor.
The project preserves and restores the whole of the existing timber structure and enclosing masonry perimeter walls. The pattern of relieving arches in the external walls are opened up to provide a regular pattern of windows so that more light enters the interior. The 8-metre-high ground floor is retained, and a new timber floor is inserted into the large upper volume of the interior. This new structure is supported by the existing vertical structure with new supports where they are required. The new floor incorporates three large circular cutouts that encircle the existing A-frame structural elements and allow light and visual connections between the two upper levels of the building. The design preserves and extends the incredible strategy of masonry and timber hybrid structures that is already so powerful in the existing structure.
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Models
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Drawings
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Ground floor plan
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First floor plan
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Second floor plan
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Long section
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Cross section
Sectional perspectives
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Related news
In conversation
Florian Zierer
Berlin International University of Applied Sciences
Berlin, Germany
8th October 2024
Florian Zierer will be in conversation at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences on 8th October 2024, introducing the practice's recent projects with existing buildings.
Credits
Location
Uetikon am See, Switzerland
Date
2022–2025
Client
Mettler2Invest AG
Area
8,400m²
Caruso St John Architects
Adam Caruso, Peter St John, Michael Schneider, Florian Zierer
Project architect
Yasemin Ciorabai
Project team
Liang-Cheng Chung, Elen Finstad, Gian Hodel, Valeria Mellarini
Structural engineer
Ferrari Gartmann AG
Building physics
Kopitsis Bauphysik AG
Services engineers
Pfiffner AG
Electrical engineers
PBP Engineering AG, Zürich
Program Consultant
Denkstatt sàrl
Recycling
Eberhard Recycling AG
Fire protection planner
Amstein+Walthert AG
Photography
René Dürr
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