Conversion Grünbaum Koblasa Livingmedia. The starting point of the conversion was the 600 m² storage hall under the roof of the trading building Hardturmstrasse 66 in Zurich. Half of the 3.6-m high, almost support-less hall was converted into offices for the firm Grünbaum Koblasa Livingmedia, the other half into a loft for Peter Grünbaum. The aim of the conversion was to thematise and heighten the existing qualities of the space with built-in elements, i.e. the expanse and the height of the hall. Partial glazing between the various rooms and over-dimensional sliding doors allow a fluid spatial continuum to be created in which each room perceptibly remains within a unified system. Only the elongated and deliberate lowered body in the middle encloses two self-contained bathroom blocks and the staircase, introducing a more human scale. The loft and offices are divided by frameless glazing attached to this body. The simple structural order thus created nevertheless allows for a complex spatial fabric with a suprising variety of spatial references. The deliberate placing of the roof lighting underscores the intended plasticity of expression with the zenithal incidence of light. The materialisation was developed to correspond with the utilitarian tones of the industrial architecture. A deliberate choice of colours fulfilled the demands of homeliness. This contrasts excitingly in the private rooms (such as bedrooms, bathrooms and the open kitchen) with the urbane living room. This example shows how we plumb the prevailing circumstances in a conversion and generate a specific spatial idea from them.

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