Haus Konstruktiv, Bar & Shop Conversion, Zurich. The office spaces previously used as the entrance area were rather narrow and lacking the appropriate representative qualities. The possibility presented itself to simply relocate these offices to the fourth floor of the building, allowing the creation of an attractive and more ample spatial situation that far better matched the sheer size of the “Haus Konstruktiv”. The visitors are now receive an appropriate welcome, can unwind in the enlarged café and study the catalogues in peace and quiet, but are also tempted to browse through the expanded range of retail material. The former symmetrical arrangement of the concrete elements has been loosened by removing the platform emplacement on the right-hand side, creating a more beautiful and dramatically higher space for the café, with echoes of Mediterranean spatial proportions. The reclaiming of this spatial height lends the whole entrance area an exciting asymmetry, varying the architectonic emphasis more and allowing the different functions (the shop to the left and the café to the right) to spatially unfold in a fitting manner. Despite the fact that the café is by no means large, its height emits a largess that creates a comfortable spatial feeling. This renewed openness mirrors the central urban location and easy accessibility of the Haus Konstruktiv, while the attractive bar simultaneously represents a bonus for the immediate neighbourhood. Equally, vernissages can in future be held in a more adequate setting. The unit fixtures of the shop and the café are unified by means of their protrusions and recessions and their shape and materialisation, allowing them to functionally blend with each other. The bar, the lounge and the body of the cashier point form a dynamic “landscape” that by means of their situation harnesses the various functional demands. The rounded corners create a pleasant haptic effect. The imposing two-storey rear wall of the café and bar constitutes an additional museum surface that can be used to display art, continually influencing the mood of the space anew.

AFGH, Competition: Carlo Fumarola, Realisation: Flavio Loretz