Workshop building Landscheide / kit

Architects: kit
Location: Hauptstrasse 81, 9105 Schönengrund, Switzerland
Lead Architects: Roman Loretan, Andreas Schelling, Gianet Traxler
Construction Management: Trunz + Wirth | Uzwil SG
Landscape Architects: Cadrage | Zurich
Civil Engineer: Huber + Partner | Wattwil SG
Engineer Heating & Cooling: Energie4 | Zurich
Electrical Engineer: Bühler + Scherler | St. Gallen
Sanitary Engineer: Dörig Planung | Herisau AR
Area: 2100.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Ruedi Walti

Text description provided by the architects. The Landscheide workshop in Wald-Schoenengrund offers structured daytime workspaces to people with disabilities. For this purpose, the new building by kit | architects provides bright studio spaces, with the clever layout ensuring a protected environment that fosters independent work. The simple building structure offers a variety of spatial experiences and can be used flexibly. The walls have been deliberately left rough, and the wood and concrete ceilings underline the workshop character, while the inclusion of the surrounding nature creates a calm and relaxing atmosphere.

Site-Specific Situation
The new building complements the ensemble of the existing residential facility Landscheide. The compact cube adopts the alignment of the surrounding buildings and blends into the slope between the main street and the cultural landscape. A wide canopy characterises and protects the entrance area, while at the same time offering the possibility of extending the wood workshop into the outside space during good weather. The building’s setting and the careful modulation of the surrounding topography create outdoor spaces with different qualities: a forecourt, a garden and the outdoor seating area of the coffee shop. The entire property was further turned into an orchard with newly planted, loosely spaced apple and cherry trees.

Building
Due to its hillside location, the lower floor opens directly onto the forecourt. The actual ground floor comprises the common rooms and the administrative office, and the three upper floors the additional workspaces. These upper rooms are divided by four u-shaped brackets arranged around a central access area, thus creating two different types of rooms: corner rooms and niche rooms. The corner rooms, which open towards the staircase, serve the main purpose of the building, whereas the niche rooms can be used as retreat spaces, offices and storage rooms. In addition, the rooms are connected along the façade, allowing informal access.

Rooms
People with very different impairments work in the workshop, and the room structure is tailored to their needs. Providing shielded retreat and break spaces was important. In addition, the niche rooms contain the offices of the supervisors, from which the workshops can be discreetly monitored, enabling independent work that enhances self-esteem. The inclusion of the surrounding nature through generous ribbon windows creates a bright and quiet atmosphere, and the clear arrangement of the rooms contributes to easy orientation in the building.

Façade and Structural Concept
The outside of the building features an exposed concrete façade with encircling parapet strips and slender columns. The exposed concrete was formed with OSB panels and thus has a lively structure. The brown glazing takes on the colour of the surrounding dark wooden houses.