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#SwissBuildingOfTheWeek - Handschin Schweighauser Architekten ETH SIA GmbH built an apartment building in Rheinfelden. Timo Grollimund explains why the timber element construction is supported by supports and what the apartment floor plans are all about. WA: What is special about this building project? TG: The property was initially overgrown, and we aimed to preserve this character despite densification. To save trees, we designed a raised building with ground-floor parking, avoiding a second basement and minimizing excavation to protect roots. WA: Did current energy, construction or design trends influence the project? TG: We decided to work with wood as much as possible. In this way, we tried to do justice to the environmental issue, although we could of course go much further in terms of climate-friendly construction. Read about this project by following the https://lnkd.in/eYpHevgJ Photos: Tim Ott #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #bestoftheweek #bestarchitecture #handschinschweighauser⁠ #swiss

#SwissBuildingOfTheWeek - The Bachtal school building in Ennetbaden is the first work of Luc Kummer and Martin Schiess (KUMMER/SCHIESS Architekten GmbH). The young architects explain how they dealt with the special topography of the building site in terms of design. WA: What is special about this building project? Luc Kummer: Ennetbaden and the school site are shaped by striking topography—the Limmatbogen, terraces, Jura foothills, and underground structures. During the competition, we realized that positioning the building at the site’s edge, between underground structures, would provide exceptional views and ground-level access across three floors. WA: How did the location influence the design? Martin Schiess: In addition to the topography and the references to the surroundings, the buildings and facilities underground were a defining feature of the design. On the one hand, the Goldwandtunnel, the bypass of the village center of Ennetbaden built in 2006, passes under the school building area, and on the other hand, there is a multi-story parking garage under the current learning landscape with the former "Posttäli". Read about this project by following the https://lnkd.in/eRFsbRkb Photos: Roland Bernath #forqualityinarchitecture #swissarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #bestoftheweek #bestarchitecture #bestof #ennetbaden #schulhausbachtal #schulhaus #schulbau #kummerschiess

#SelectedProject - Shadi Rahbaran and Ursula Hürzeler (Rahbaran Hürzeler Architects) have built three new houses in a Basel backyard and converted an old one. Their ensemble highlights the untapped potential of block edge developments. Once criticized for being noisy, smelly, and dark, 19th-century block edge typologies offered high density and generous outdoor spaces but were later filled with workshops and warehouses. Today, they remain a defining feature of cities like Zurich and Basel. With the Colmi residential courtyard near Burgfelderplatz, Shadi Rahbaran and Ursula Hürzeler transformed a cluttered backyard with partly dilapidated and collapsed buildings into a vibrant, green living and working space. Read about this project by following the https://lnkd.in/eKdrq5Z3 Photos: 1,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 © WEISSWERT 2,3 © Rahbaran Hürzeler Architects #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #rahbaranhuerzeler #Colmi #residentialcourtyard #Basel

#AustriaBuildingOfTheWeek - querkraft architekten have built a residential high-rise Taborama near Vienna's North Station. Gerd Erhartt explains how various community facilities, from a bouldering room to a library and a painting studio, bring residents together. WA: hat is special about this building project? GE: When designing a residential high-rise, the biggest challenge is to enable and promote a social community despite the enormous number of apartments and people. For this reason, the high-rise is equipped with a generous range of common rooms, which are distributed across all floors and are located right next to the vertical access. WA: How did the location influence the design? GE: The urban development near the North Station stands out for StudioVlayStreeruwitz's concept, preserving the railway area's spaciousness by concentrating building masses along the edges, creating an open center. The high point design uses horizontal layering to break down the large structure into manageable units, ensuring a human scale. Read about this project on World-Architects.com by following the https://lnkd.in/emkp8Z2s Photos: Christina Häusler #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #bestarchitecture #residential #highrise #tower #taborama #nordbahnhof #vienna #wien #querkraft #querkraftarchitects

New continuous rooflight for the butterfly house! During the renovation of the Papiliorama in Kerzers, three VARIO-THERM skylights from VELUX Commercial with a width of over five metres and lengths of up to forty metres were installed. Area Sales Manager Niklaus Dudle explains how this came about. WA: Why were your products chosen for this project? ND: In 2002, the relocated building prioritized cost over quality, which led to issues 20 years later, with leaking roofs and inefficient skylights. As part of the "Papiliorama 2030" project, the foundation decided to renovate the complex, including the skylight above the cafeteria, ticket counter, and exhibition room. WA: How were you able to convince the client of your skylights? ND: Our VARIO-THERM skylights were chosen to improve energy efficiency and daylight. The old skylights were replaced by three skylights of different lengths, which are integrated into the new overall concept for ensuring the indoor climate and ventilation. The skylights with opening flaps are part of an automated building management system. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/enbgmweW Photo: VELUX Commercial #VELUXCommercial #SustainableDesign #EnergyEfficiency #Skylights #Renovation #DaylightInnovation #VARIOTHERM #SkylightInnovation

#ArchitectureOfTheMonth - The Olgiate Olona Sports Hall in Italy, by Giulia de Appolonia, contrasts a solid concrete base anchoring the building with a translucent upper layer of polycarbonate and glass, blending earth and sky in a striking design. The architects answered a few questions about the project. WA: Can you describe the project to us? GDA: The Olgiate sports hall, located near the A8 motorway, features a basketball court with seating for 350 spectators, a changing room block, and a two-story north block with additional changing rooms, a gym, and a bar. The design ensures separate entrances for athletes, spectators, and bar users. WA: What were the inspirations and ideas that influenced the design of the building? GDA: The main idea was a reflection on the sports container and on how it was possible to work on a very impactful volume with the aim of inserting it into a small urban fabric. Read about this project by following the https://lnkd.in/exqndqFi Photos: Filippo Poli #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #bestarchitecture #bestof #Italy #OlgiateOlonaSportsHall #GiuliadeAppolonia

#SwissBuildingOfTheWeek - In Altendorf on the upper Lake Zurich, jomini & zimmermann have designed a multigenerational house with a farm kitchen, farm shop and commercial premises. Valérie Jomini presents the building made of wood and clay, which offers a healthy indoor climate. WA: What is special about this building project? VJ: A multigenerational house for an extended family that lives together and runs a solidarity farm together is not an everyday building project. On the property where only the parents lived until now, three residential units, a farm kitchen, a farm shop and three commercial premises have been built so that the daughter and son can also live and work there with their families. WA: What is the inspiration behind this project? VJ: For the project, we were inspired by the historic wooden buildings in the immediate vicinity and by traditional Japanese architecture. Both building cultures produce buildings with a good indoor climate and high atmospheric quality from local renewable raw materials with minimal grey energy. Read about this project by following the https://lnkd.in/ePg5CnDT Photos: Roland Bernath #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #bestarchitecture #TimberConstruction #jominizimmermann #RegenerativeArchitecture

#GermanBuildingOfTheWeek - In Trier, schleicher.ragaller freie Architekten have expanded the St. Clemens daycare center. Michael Ragaller and Domenik Schleicher provide an insight into the design process. WA: How does the design respond to the location? Michael Ragaller: A small building window on a steep slope and the need to partially preserve an existing structure housing offices and a kitchen posed challenges for adding a children's home with six groups. We aimed to highlight the stunning view of the Moselle Valley and the beautifully grown orchard on the slope with a compact, two-story design. WA: What is the inspiration behind this project? Domenik Schleicher: We regularly study role models with our team. We admire Mario Botta’s skylight concept for his school in Morbio Inferiore, Ticino, from the late 1970s, where light continuously shifts with the sun's position. We embraced this idea. In our building, the central staircase leads up to the light, offering a stunning view of the Moselle Valley through a large window at the top. Read about this project by following the https://lnkd.in/e26BETu7 Photos: zooey braun FOTOGRAFIE #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #bestoftheweek #bestarchitecture #bestof

#SelectedProject - In the heart of Barcelona's 22@ district, the LCI Education building fuses innovative design and urban transformation. Conceived as a hub for creativity and interdisciplinary learning, the building was designed by Fernando Ansorena and Iván Serrano of Circular Studio and has been awarded the BREEAM sustainability certificate at the excellence level. The building had to be able to take on the role of LCI Education's flagship in Europe: it is reinforced by its urban integration and its potential as an infrastructure adapted to students and residents. Its design goes beyond the functional by exploring how educational spaces can be integrated into the urban life of Barcelona to positively impact the social environment. Among its sustainable architectural features, the dry aluminium façade stands out, a 100% recyclable and reusable material, as well as the metal structure of the building, which is also completely recoverable and recyclable. Read about this project by following the https://lnkd.in/e86ZjNGs Photos: Julio Mesa #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #circularstudio #LCIEducation #Barcelona

#HealingArchitecture - When planning children's hospitals, it's essential to consider the unique needs of young patients and the people accompanying them. Herzog & de Meuron kept this in mind when designing the new Zurich Children's Hospital, which will soon open in Zurich-Lengg. When building hospitals, process optimization and cost-effectiveness are often the focus, but the well-being of patients and staff is increasingly also a priority when planning the premises. For a long time, healing was not considered a holistic process. Today we know that the atmosphere of the place, the design of the buildings and rooms, and the careful planning of the surrounding and integrated green spaces are essential and contribute to recovery. Many of the large hospital complexes built in recent decades enable the best care and efficient processes. Read this article by following the https://lnkd.in/esqMdWtq Photo: Maris Mezulis #forqualityinarchitecture #waofficial #worldarchitects #architecture #architects #article #news #architecturenews #Zurich #herzogdemeuron