Workshops to apartments, monument to landmark

When it opened in 1951, the Schlotterbeck Garage was already more than just a car repair workshop. Designed at the time by the Basel architects Hans Rudolf Suter and Peter Suter, it was a monument to the age of mobility that was just getting going.

The building, consisting of a workshop and tower, was added two floors in several stages until 1960 and then remained more or less unchanged until it was acquired by the Stahler Group in 2011.

The architectural competition organized in 2012 by the Stahler Group in collaboration with the City of Zurich was won by Giuliani Hönger Architekten, who implemented the assignment to convert and expand the area into a new urban interpretation in the best possible way.

The subsequent construction, which began in 2014, took three years. The Schlotterbeck-Areal now contains 2180 m² of commercial space and 104 modern apartments of varying characters.

In 2021, almost exactly four years after completion, we had the pleasure of receiving the award for "Guten Bauten der Stadt Zürich" together with Giuliani Hönger Architekten. With this award, the city of Zurich has been promoting a diverse and high-quality building culture as well as public awareness and open discourse on urban planning and architecture for over 70 years. An interdisciplinary jury of experts chaired by City Councilor André Odermatt selected the best among the 117 buildings and outdoor spaces submitted that were built in the city of Zurich between 2016 and 2020.

The project was described by the expert jury in the following words:
"Workshops to apartments, monument to landmark: the transformation of the former Citroën garage shows the quality that can be created when old buildings are not lamented as obstacles but used as sources of inspiration. The ramp building of the former garage was raised to a cylindrical tower in which all apartments open to the light. In the workshop building, the existing structure - 35 m building depth, different floor heights and a striking supporting structure - also led to unique apartment types. Here, densification generates not only building volume, but also spatial quality and social connections."

Link to the project website of the architects
Link to the picture series "Project Schlotterbeck”
Link to the awards "Good Buildings of the City of Zurich”

Residential/commercial property in Zurich
104 residential units from 38 to to 146sqm (for sale) / 2,180sqm commercial space (for rent)
Project duration: 2011–2017
Status: Sold out