The VBZ central workshop was designed as a Cluster and has been in existence for 50 years. Together with a complete renovation, the coherence between its internal functionality and external aesthetic could be reinstated. The PV system rises up as an autonomous floating roof above the roof gardens that offer the employees and the neighbourhood a previously unseen experience of the cityscape. It is a solar generator, a source of shade and a canopy but furthermore, it is the VBZ flagship - the roof integrates within the original building’s referential vocabulary. The facade’s functionality is maintained, while the pronounced relief makes it more accessible. The maintenance balconies made out of exposed aggregate concrete are preserved and complemented by sand casted aluminium elements.

VBZ-Zentralwerkstätte Zürich Altstetten
Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich
Competition, 2018

office haratori with ERNST & HUMBEL GmbH
GMS Partner AG, construction management
Freiraum Baumanagement AG
Lorenz Eugster Landschaftsarchitektur und Städtebau
EBP engineers