Office on Guisanquai, CH-Zurich
The client is leasing the historic “Schader Commercial Building,” located on Zurich’s most prominent lakeside site. Built in the early 1970s by Jacques Schader as IBM’s headquarters, the building features pioneering solutions of its time, ranging from urban planning to design details. The goal of the interior design concept is to harmonize the protected design elements with the contemporary requirements of a tech corporation.
In addition to office space, the new layout includes event and meeting rooms, conference rooms, as well as lounge, fitness, and dining areas. The landscape design of the historic building had already incorporated the landscaping of the lakeshore and the “arboretum” located there; the new office concept now extends this design to the interior as well.
Plant elements made of clay brick complement the historic palette of materials, which includes anodized aluminum and wood. The clay structures contribute to the building’s thermal performance inside and help meet today’s technical requirements within the structural constraints of the past.
Based on the concept of an “alpinum” — a display garden for alpine plants — and drawing inspiration from trends in Swiss graphic design of the early 1970s, the conference rooms are designed to have their own distinct atmosphere.
