Pavillon Zürich

Nature is the space – the space is in nature.

The pavilion is grasped briefly, its boundaries and edges too transparent to conceal. Slender columns separate the roof from the raised floor slab, which leans against the adjoining historic building, becomes a plinth, and forms an underground connection between the volumes. The simplicity of the structure and its materiality can be read like an open book.

Yet beneath the simplicity of the result lies an extraordinary process. The existing historic building is listed and lies outside the building zone. A balanced process between authorities, politics, and planners, guided by aligned goals, led to the outcome. The new volume is placed perpendicular to the historic structure, its orientation and form subordinated to the existing fabric.

Inside the historic building, narrow and fragmented spaces prevail, characteristic of the structure and previously restored with care. The client’s wish was an extension that would allow for a larger space. The resulting new living area is both interior and exterior, as the full height glazed walls can be opened entirely.

While the cantilevered roof provides shade during the day, by night the glass lantern radiates into the surrounding space. It is a life with and within nature, a connection that touches – boundaries become fragile, dissolve, and an intimate coexistence within the surrounding space begins.

Client: Private

Planning: Rossetti+Wyss Architekten

Photos: © David Röthlisberger