Address
Zurich, CH

Client
Swiss Life AG
Zurich, CH

Young, dynamic and (hopefully) successful

The three buildings Tic, Tric and Trac in Räffelstraße in Zurich have a number of things in common with Donald Duck’s three nephews – they are intelligent, energetic and, of course, disrespectful. The three-part ensemble provides 27,800 square metres of rental space for young people with lots of ideas but not much money. The showpiece of the new centre is a 700 square metre creative mall that links all three buildings at the first floor level. The users can exchange ideas here, stage small-scale events and meet spontaneously. Better suited for more formal get-togethers are the restaurants on the ground floors, where day-nurseries and small service providers are also accommodated. The boundaries between work and leisure are clearly intended to be fluid and use of the centre to be affordable. The architecture meets this need. The highly flexible interior, which is not geared to any specific use, is the product of the extensive span lengths between the load-bearing cores and the facades. The facades mirror the continuous construction grid (8.10 m) and the modular grid (2.70 m). They consist essentially of two elements: the thermal envelope and the concrete curtain walls. The dynamic concrete elements have a high level of self-shading, which has the advantage that an external sun shading system can be dispensed with. An equally sparing approach has been adopted with respect to the mechanical services. The concept is based on a modular construction that enables the tenants to decide for themselves which installations they wish to activate. In other words, the users are provided with an intelligent, top-quality shell, the facilities within which can be adjusted to match the (hopefully) increasing success of the companies concerned.

Planning
be Vaduz

Project Architect
Marc Fisler

Assistance
Marius Cerha
Ina Brink
Tomasz Walecki

Site Area
12.766 m²

Area of Building
3.850 m²

Gross Floor Area
46.915 m²

Net Floor Area
39.534 m²

Building Volume
158.711 m³

Commencement Of Planning
2008

Completion
2014