Lokstadt

With its recently completed ensemble of residential and educational buildings, the Zurich-based architectural practice EM2N has made a striking contribution to the transformation of the former Sulzer site in Winterthur, the ‘Lokstadt’. At the heart of the project are three new buildings: the 50-metre-high ‘Bigboy’ residential tower block with 125 rental flats, the two-part ‘Tender’ residential building with 82 owner-occupied flats, and the repurposed existing ‘Draisine’ hall, which now serves as an extension to a school and a nursery. For the educational areas in the ‘Draisine’ hall, Embru was commissioned to oversee the interior design, providing functional and durable furniture – tailored to the specific requirements of pedagogy, practicality and spatial quality.

The access corridor becomes a ‘play corridor’

The former industrial hall, with its listed sawtooth roof structure, has been sensitively converted and repurposed. Four light-filled classrooms have been created across 1,628 square metres, complemented by an extra-wide play corridor that opens onto the sheltered inner courtyard via large windows. A further outdoor space for the school and nursery was created by carving a 330-square-metre terrace into the roof structure. The furniture supplied by Embru blends seamlessly into the architectural style, creating an environment that fosters concentration as well as a playful sense of openness.

Each of the four volumes in the complex has its own distinct design, linked by a two-storey plinth that creates space for hybrid living and working arrangements. A narrow courtyard stretches between the buildings – a deliberately created space that recalls the site’s industrial past whilst simultaneously establishing new connections. For Embru, the project represents not only participation in a pioneering urban development scheme, but also an opportunity to contribute to the integration of architecture, education and design into everyday life.

Photos: Damian Poffet