New construction / maintenance's Wache Süd competition Zürich, 2018

Paramedics and militia firefighters are to be integrated into “Wache Süd” in the future in order to improve assistance and deployment times. According to the competition procedure, the existing fire watch should be structurally adapted and extended accordingly.

The existing construction planned by Hermann Herter is part of the started perimeter block. When the neighbouring plot became available, the opportunity arose to continue the existing building structure in the style of Hermann Herter's architecture and to close the gap to the “Hohes Haus”. The building extension complements the perimeter block and closes it at the same time. As introduction to the courtyard space, the rounded corner in the new building forms the counterpart to the existing oriel-like transition to Manessestrasse. A subtle fusion of old and new is sought, whereby the interface with the old building becomes apparent at second glance. The plastered exterior walls are reminiscent of the materiality of the old building, but should differ in structure. The base, eave, roof shape and ridge height connect seamlessly and integrate the new building into the existing structure. In order to clarify the courtyard situation, the existing fixtures are demolished and a new, single-storey annex is constructed, which encompasses the existing building and annex as a bracket and integrates the hose tower with its annex.