Office loft Küsnacht

The former boilerhouse of the Terlinden laundry was built in several stages between 1918 and 1968. Its new use was to retain the character of the industrial past of this exposed concrete structure.

The dark industry hall was converted to a bright office loft by various different measures. A gallery level offset from the facade was installed in the boiler room, and a tower-like glass volume was mounted on top of the former oil tank room. The ancillary buildings were replaced by a new structure with entrance and reception functions for the office loft, plus the client’s office.

The atmosphere on the lake side is marked by the bright fabric sunshades which project far out and are reminiscent of the buildings found in English seaside resorts. The facade on the lake side has double-level glazing and overlooks the lake through large sliding windows. The street side features a double-layer glass facade based on the grid of the former metal infilling. This has also been used in the top-mounted glass tower to reduce noise and pollution. Above the fifth facade – the roof – is the wooden deck, floating raft-like in fields of white glass gravel.

In line with the site’s industrial heritage, the materials used are limited to exposed concrete for the walls and interior structures plus graphite-black steel for the glass facades.