The historic Waschanstalt was a commercial laundry located on Lake Zürich. As the winning project in an invited architectural competition, the re-use project includes renovation, new construction, and preservation - located around, over, and under the original building complex.
The site requirements were complex and technical, including environmental decontamination of the ground surface under the existing building, zoning changes corresponding to a change of government, public access through the site to the lakefront, and preservation of elements of the original factory.
The idea of the project is to open the original deep spaces of the factory into housing with daylight in all rooms. In addition, the location of the building complex between the lake and a busy traffic thoroughfare suggested mixed use, with commercial and office space along the street.
With magnificent views, the new functions include housing, commercial, office, and restaurant use. Housing units are based on loft types, with a mix of vertical and horizontal floor plans. Housing units are generous in size, proposing a new scale for living in Zürich.