Townhouses are erected
24.01.2022
Where locomotives were once built, an urban living space full of forward-looking ideas is being created in the middle of Winterthur. The showpiece wooden building "Krokodil" and the first stage of the townhouses have been completed and occupied. Now the second construction stage of the townhouses has begun.
The Lokstadt townhouses - like the entire site - are designed according to the goals of the 2000-watt society. They are built according to the Minergie-Eco standard, and special attention is paid to the choice of materials. For this reason, the townhouses are largely made of wood from the first floor up. The wooden construction remains clearly visible with the columns and beams in the interior.
The ARGE KilgPopp Architekten and Baumberger & Stegmeier Architekten designed the townhouses with the partially historic facades. Timbatec was allowed to accompany the planning team in the areas of structural analysis, fire protection and works planning.
The townhouses creatively develop the industrial heritage. What is special about the buildings is that they have two different facades. Towards Jägerstrasse, the historic industrial look dominates with its partially preserved brick facades. Towards the pedestrian zone in the car-free and busy Werkgasse, large windows provide light and airiness. This means that the buildings will be dismantled except for the existing listed brick facade, and the wooden structure behind it will be erected.
The timber construction behind an existing facade requires a particularly precise measurement and a construction that is subordinate to the existing building. The result: the security of the old town behind the brick facade and, at the same time, the advantages of modern timber construction in the middle of the city.