In the future we will be confronted with the problem of building fabric from the 1960s and 1970s that no longer satisfies present-day standards. One project that tackles this problem is the refurbishment of a theatre building in Zurich, which required an additional 700 seats and a larger foyer. These programmatic demands and a specified budget gave us the starting point for a radical transformation into a contemporary musical theatre. Our project ‘cannibalises’ existing elements such as the basement and the fly tower. The new volume reacts in a differentiated way to the various scales of the urban context. We aimed for a direct, raw and industrial kind of expression. During the day the façade of standing- seam perforated metal is reminiscent of industrial buildings. At night the windows behind the translucent membrane begin to glow transforming the building into an artificial lantern. The activities in the foyer are conveyed outside by large ‘eyes’.........
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