Diakonie Bethanien

Zürich, Switzerland

Photo © Pablo Casals Aguirre

Photo © E2A

Mixed Use

Architects: E2A / Piet Eckert und Wim Eckert / Architekten

Location: Buckhauserstrasse 34-36, 8048 Zürich, Switzerland
Year: 2017
Client: Diakonie Bethanien - Zurich
Team: Piet Eckert, Wim Eckert with Mirko Akermann and Tânia Roque, Andrea Brandén, Moisés García Alvarez, Dustin L. Bush, Behzad Farahmand, Kamil Hajji, Susana Loureiro, Anna Otz, Valentino Sandri, Tobias Weise, Rafal Wójcik, Sven Löfvenberg

The plane-like building volume can be interpreted as a solitary gesture. The orthogonal form of the plane plays off of the typologies present in the surrounding urban fabric, which is characterized by manufacturing plants. The diagonal relationships resulting from this strategy create the basis for the structure of the exterior spaces.

The deaconry consists of a complex set of interrelated functions; this arose out of necessity in the coordination of the intended nursing and assistance programs, particularly in regard to the extensive infrastructure required to create the most possible synergies. As such, the program includes a palliative care facility, daycare, specialized medical facility, classrooms, service areas, and a hotel with a conference room, bar, and restaurant.

A complex and efficient infrastructural core services these various functions. Some are finished with self-contained vertical circulation, allowing parallel and simultaneous operations to occur without causing conflicts of interest between these separate functions. The interplay of the programmatic elements results in a ground floor highly connected to the adjacent open space. The functions themselves create a public destination animated by the activity of the site, thus giving the space an urban quality.