Bahnhofquartier Wettingen

Place & Urban Space

Bahnhofquartier Wettingen marks the gateway to a new urban area, situated at the intersection of diverse rhythms and scales of the city. Here, travelers in transit, commuters on their daily routes, pedestrians in the public realm, and future residents of the neighborhood converge. The project responds to this multiplicity with an architecture that acts as a mediating gesture. Two buildings frame the square, their continuous, spatial façade forming an ensemble that defines the place both atmospherically and functionally. The head building enters into direct dialogue with the station, its staggered form and orientation creating a clear gesture toward the public space. A double-height colonnade lends the square depth, offers shelter, and marks the threshold to the ground-floor uses.

Architecture & Expression

Above the colonnade, an open lattice structure unfolds as a vertical garden. The planted façades contribute not only to the identity of the place but also articulate the buildings’ vertical scale, frame the balconies, and serve as a filter between domestic life and the city. A semi-transparent photovoltaic layer over the balcony zone generates solar power while feeding the rainwater system that irrigates the greenery. Along Seminarstrasse, the building volumes follow the fine grain of the surrounding neighborhood, creating a transition between public and private scales. Despite their formal kinship, each house retains its character: façades in ceramic tones, vertical timber cladding, or pale greens speak of variety within the ensemble. Window openings and façade proportions are precisely calibrated to optimize both summer and winter thermal performance.

Uses & Everyday Life

The ground floor is characterized by a vibrant mix of public-oriented uses. At Bahnhofplatz, restaurant spaces open onto the sheltered area beneath the colonnade, while smaller-scale units along Seminarstrasse accommodate ateliers, studios, or workshops. Entrances vary in scale depending on the building depth: some feature double-height lobbies, while others open directly onto the neighborhood streets. In one of the buildings, the entry expands into a central hall with natural top light, connecting residences, office spaces, and co-working areas, and leading to a communal rooftop terrace. Shared rooms, a bookable guest suite, and accessible rooftop landscapes complement the housing offering. The floor plans are based on modular room cells, enabling the prefabrication of sanitary units and sequences of rooms. Depending on the building depth, the mix of apartments ranges from compact units to spacious family homes, with switchable rooms allowing for future adaptation.

Open Space & Connectivity

The landscape design follows a clear principle: openness, permeability, and quality of stay. A fine network of paths connects Bahnhofplatz with the adjacent buildings and weaves across the entire site. A sequence of squares, courtyards, and green niches lends rhythm to the ground-floor level. Plantings of perennials, flower mixes, and tree groups create seasonal diversity and a microclimate specific to the location. Between the buildings, places to linger emerge – with fountains, seating, and play areas. Schwyzerstrasse is integrated into the neighborhood not only functionally but also through design: tree rows and planting strips accompany the street space and give it an urban character. Colonnades, courtyard spaces, and garden courtyards invite visitors to pause and act as links between the interior and exterior.

Construction & Sustainability

The structural concept is based on a resource-conscious approach: slabs made of recycled concrete are optimized in height through the consistent stacking of wet rooms and the omission of built-in ventilation ducts. Where necessary, structural walls are made of concrete; all others are lightweight constructions with clay panels, contributing to the reduction of embodied energy in the interior. Exposed concrete surfaces remain untreated or are merely slurry-coated to minimize material use. All buildings are connected underground, with a deliberately compact parking garage allowing for unsealed, naturally planted courtyards above. The housing mix is diverse, intergenerational, and reflects various forms of contemporary living. Additional shelter spaces and technical infrastructure are integrated into the basement. The design treats sustainability not as a stylistic feature but as a constructive backbone – ecological, functional, and future-proof.