ETH Zürich   Studio Adam CarusoETH Zürich  Studio Adam CarusoETH Zürich  Studio A. CarusoETHZ   Studio Caruso

By investigating the history of Glarus it became apparent that the textile industry played a significant role. Described as a pioneer work, the heroic and linear narrative still plays an important role in the canton’s identity today. Inspired by Ursula Le Guin’s concept of the carrier bag, a collection of stories was gathered describing that the Glarnerland isn’t only about the heydays of the industry but also about the possibilities it left behind.

One of the stories to be told is explained by Peter Jenny. In an interview, he mentioned that besides the industrial past, the Glarnerland has the quality of serving as a niche and by that attracting artists and other people involved in the cultural scene. After the textile industry came to a halt at the end of the 20th century, space became available that could be exploited. Examples such as the Palais Jaune in Diesbach in the 1980s or the still active Hollenstein in Ennenda illustrate what Jenny was referring to. Both places offered space to communities of people involved in the cultural sector where they could create their own environment, hidden from the rush in the cities.

Also, the Hänggiturm shows a straightforward way of representing the history of the textile past. Reapplying Ursula Le Guin’s method to analyze the building it became clear that the seemingly perfect appearance of the ensemble has more stories
to tell. The old, original factory building was supposed to serve as a base for the relocated Hänggiturm. As the building was a bit too narrow, it was demolished in the 90s and replaced by a new building with the same appearance. One irregularity that illustrates the orchestration is the large basement with an underground garage.

How does this “Niche” manifest itself?
The relocation of the post office that is currently inhabiting the base of the building offers the possibility to introduce a new use. As an extension of the existing cultural network, a residency for artists is implemented into the partly vacated building. Equipped with small appartements it allows the guests to inhabit the building for any length of time. The floor slab to the basement is cut open to unveil the orchestration and to provide the basement with natural light. The space once used as a garage is reframed into a Werkhalle, ready to be appropriated by the inhabitants, starting with a ceramic workshop in which tiles are produced which are installed on the upper floors. Inspired by the structure of the Chelsea Hotel
the ground floor is transformed into the new Lobby of the building. Together with the existing Anna Göldi Museum in the Hänggiturm, the lobby mediates between the public and the newly implemented internal world. The bar, reception, and collective kitchen on one hand welcome the public of Ennenda into the building and on the other hand, serve as an extension of the inhabitants’ living rooms, enabling a community to form around the residence. The seven existing bathrooms on the upper floors allow the plans to be altered into seven smaller apartments. Equipped with a bed and a small kitchen they provide a basis for the individual occupation of the inhabitants.

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The aim of the KW Walzmühle project is to restore the existing buil- dings of the Alpenbrückli complex and introduce new infras- tructures in order to re-activate the site and its reach onto the surrounding area and its population. The implementation of a bold communal hall linking the former grain silo and the old mill is meant to generate an intermediate space that could be used by the new users of the complex as well as the daily passers-by from the region. The site is in close proximity to the centre of Glarus as well as the train tracks and stands on a pedestrian path that sees a daily flux of users crossing the old mill factory thus making it a place with a high potential for social & commercial gatherings as well as a distribution node for locally produced goods.

The new site would offer a new commercial hub for the city of Glarus, allowing local producers & suppliers to gather in a centralised environment where each could benefit from the experience and networks of each other. The goal is to introduce a variety of co- working spaces, showrooms as well as storage facilities that could enable national and international investors and distributors to come and meet in person with a broader range of small to me- dium-scale producers in order to facilitate the export of locally produced goods across the rest of the country as well as beyond our borders. The importance of the local economy and locally sourced productions is becoming a critical part of fair trade poli- cies as well as the development of suburban regions that develop products further away from economic centres such as Zurich.

Diverse state entities and private companies have already taken the challenge to boost the economy of smaller companies and expand the reach of new start-ups and producers outwards of the valley in order to bring the region to a more competitive state in opposition to the country‘s leading food distributors like Coop and Migros. These mega companies control the majority of Switzerland‘s food market and thus possess an essential influen- ce on the prices and distribution networks of goods across the country making it very difficult for smaller companies to maintain a sustainable business and push their products onto the Swiss market on their own.

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An Agora for Seebach - A new, „cultural and symbolic center“ for the neighborhood of Zurich Seebach. The architect of St. Mark‘s Church and later city architect of Zurich, Albert Heinrich Steiner, saw the situation on the Buhn-hill with the Buhnrain schoolhouse and St. Mark‘s Church as an optimal example of the center of a neighborhood. Unfortunately, not much of this can be seen today. the project is to change this! Although the buildings of St. Maark‘s Church and the Buhnrain Schoolhouse are almost built together, they do not have much in common. The project was to bring these two institutions together, one has too much - the other too little space, especially in view of the Mittagstisch 2025, where all schools in Zurich have to offer a day school structure with Lunch table for all students and for which the Buhnrain school building cannot offer any space.

Intervention points of the project - In order to connect the two institutions, more space is needed between them and a more direct connection between the school building and the community hall. The demolition of the no longer contemporary caretaker‘s apartment of the church creates a square between the buildings.

A new neighborhood square is created - The free square between the school and the church is to become a meeting place for the residents of the rapidly growing Seebach neighborhood. The population can meet there and linger in the various squares or gardens, an agora for Seebach.

New access and conversion of the room- The parish hall will get a new vestibule, oriented to the square. The caretaker‘s apartment of the school will be converted into a neighborhood space, as well as the arcade of the school will be extended and the volume broken through, connecting the two buildings more directly. Public toilets will be installed in the opening of the school.

A new axis connects the Church garden- A new path runs between the two buildings and connects the road leading up the hill, the „Höhenring“ with the upper neighborhood. The path is made of spolia of stones from the city of Zurich and stones from the quarry at the foot of the hill. This new axis at right angles to the large schoolhouse square connects the new neighborhood square with the church garden, which is currently little used and beautifully situated over Zurich Seebach / Oerlikon. The Landscape by landscape architect Gustav Ammann will be carefully extended. Outside, on a hilltop at the edge of the hill, a Monopteros, a viewing pavilion above the „Theater of the Goats“ is being built.

A shelter with multiple functions - The address from the north is formed by a paved square. This is followed by the new path with slight steps and a slight slope. A shelter with fine wooden supports follows this path and lends itself to various uses. Be it as a market stall for a neighborhood market or as a bicycle parking. The square is available for larger events such as a market or a neighborhood festival.

A garden pavilion as a focal point - The outdoor space design by Gustav Amman is carefully completed and meanders through the Gap, thus connecting the currently unused garden of the church with the new agora. The garden, in the most beautiful location above Seebach with a view of Oerlikon, is supplemented with an Odeon, a garden pavilion. This is available for smaller events. Together with the garden or the community hall, it can also be part of a larger event, for example, before a party in the hall, the aperitif can be drunk in the garden. The wooden pavilion with supports made of tree trunks fits perfectly in the context of the group of trees planted by Amman.

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Referring to Lucius Burckhardts ‘Der kleinstmögliche Eingriff’ written in the 1980s, the project aims to de-objectify the Marriott Hotel that is located at the most central locations, yet remains mostly unnoticed by the cities’ inhabitants. In the sense of Burckhardts aesthetic survey, the project follows six paths that lead up to the many entrances of the building and proposed the smallest possible interventions to initiate transformation. By promoting a change in perception of the building and its relationship to the urban landscape the buildings strength of accessibility can once again be valued. It could then become a space for the public that ultimately prevents it from demolition.

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This project focuses on different care-related issues in the Triemlifussweg neighbourhood: environmental, pedagogical, material and architectural. It proposes various interventions, on a small or large scale, which are derived from observations or interviews with users and inhabitants. The interventions are often economical or light in terms of material and expenditure. They can be seen as easily implemented strategies, and therefore also easily adjustable to the needs of the users. These strategies need to be tested, modified, adapted to improve at best the daily life of the inhabitants, so that they can take care of themselves and their loved ones, their homes and their cities, their planet and its ecosystems.

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FORMILLIERE
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HUNTER
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