Nova Brunnen, Ingenbohl-Brunnen

Nova Brunnen, Brunnen-Ingenbohl, Fischer Architekten AG Zürich

The proposal from 2012 for the revitalisation of the former cement factory site as a new urban neighbourhood is reworked. The rezoning from industrial to mixed use offers an opportunity to make flats in the industrial buildings on site A. In this way the goal – moving away from sprawl to create a varied place of encounter that offers a sense of identity – gains additional impetus. The building volumes area already approved and remain a constant.

The Holcim brownfield site is located in the central Swiss region of Ingenbohl-Brunnen, which is important for transportation and tourism. The former industrial site is to be revitalised to create a new urban district. Building plot “A” forms the starting point.

Described as an “attractor” it is made up of five buildings: the two buildings along the River Muota are conversions of former cement mills and silos into residential buildings with a strong character. They offer genuine loft living in the old industrial fabric. They are augmented by five new buildings – one of which is a high-rise – which in terms of volume and construction are oriented on the existing buildings deemed worth of preservation. Together they form an ensemble that frames Karl-Hürlimann-Platz and will provide impulses for the new district of Brunnen. The central square is the main entrance level for the residential and commercial district. The underground garage beneath it forms a plinth that connects all five buildings with each other.

The use concept is developed further in a differentiated way with retail and commercial use on the ground floor and apartments and housing for the elderly on the upper floors, augmented by a nursing care station and an office building. Both a functional and a formal diversity are achieved, leading to a in lively new district with the centrally located Karl-Hürlimann-Platz as a place of encounter.

Address
Industriestrasse 1, 6440 Brunnen SZ, Switzerland
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Task Residential and commercial use in new and replacement buildings
Job type Study commission by invitation
Mention 1st prize
Deliverables Project, tender, implementation project
Time period 2010–
Challenge Revitalisation of a brownfield site, reinterpretation of existing identity
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