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University Hospital Staff Residence
Plattenstrasse 10, Zurich
1952 - 1959
In
1952 the canton Zurich sought for the best solution to realize a staff
building for the university hospital, containing residences for 250
nurses.
The competition was won by Jakob Zweifel, only 31 years old at this time, with the proposal for a slim tower of 54 m height. Each floor consisted of
fourteen single rooms in two groups of seven, sanitary and cooking facilities as well as common rooms. The floorplan shows an H-shaped layout,
allowing the rooms to be faced east and west, while the common rooms profit from exposition to the south. The relatively small amount of only seven
rooms to each corridor retains the individuality and creates atractive conditions of neighbourhood proximity. The corridor, naturally lit, provides views
to the exterior at its end and widens towards the central area. The commonly used facilities such as the elevators and the staircase, are arranged
between the two corridors. This layout results in four cross-connections allowing alternative possibilites of access. In the common rooms a gallery
with a narrow staircase offers a subsidiary connection between the storeys. The vertical connections are exceptionally elaborate, so that even
the cleaners' balconies to the north have a vertical connection made by the fire-escape stairs. The interior organisation has several
careful considered features which enhance the value of the building from a social point of view. The rooms were furnished according to the design
by the architect. Althoug they show a certain standardization, they vary in several parameters.
On the outside the manifoldness of the interior is hardly detectable. On the contrary, the exterior appearances is of a pronounced repetition.
The building is considered to be a manifesto of high-rise architecture in Switzerland, emphasizing progress and slenderness of construction.
There is no base and no attic, slim bands of exposed reinforced concrete slabs emphasize the verticality and seem to rise out of the garden
in front of them. These vertical bands do not end at the top storey but rise higher and are folded back to define an open air space on the roof.
This results in a slight dissolution of the building structure and creates a sublime hint at a building crown. Between these vertical bands,
made of white cement, there are the windows and parapet elements made of Eternit. The north and south elevations are different. On the south
side is created a leap in scale by the subsuming of two storeys at a time. This changes the face of the building and signs its force and identity
even from distance. Between the two lim and high concrete slabs are stacked the large windowed volumes and recessed open balconies in front of glazed walls.
This façade is of a monumental expression and features a strong alternating plasticity. This front is considerd to be an architectonic expression
of the complexity of the inner life.
The high-rise building is located in the so-called region "Platte", a rather flat zone on the slope above the eastern part of the historic town of Zurich,
just at the point where the Zürichberg begint to become steeper. In this area, a considerable number of institutes of national significance have set up
their headquarters. As a consequence there are to be found the buildings of the Federal Institute of Technology, the University, the Cantonal and
University Hospital, as well as grammar schools and faculties. The staff residence is located on a limited site, in midst of the mentioned institutes,
with a grassed open space of a schoolsports faility in front. This building was honoured with several awards. 30 years after its construction,
the staff building was renovated by Jakob Zweifel and Benjamin Pfister. To meet the changed requirements of the hospital staff, the interior was redesigned
and larger apartments with private bathrooms were integrated, together with several other changes.
The competition was won by Jakob Zweifel, only 31 years old at this time, with the proposal for a slim tower of 54 m height. Each floor consisted of
fourteen single rooms in two groups of seven, sanitary and cooking facilities as well as common rooms. The floorplan shows an H-shaped layout,
allowing the rooms to be faced east and west, while the common rooms profit from exposition to the south. The relatively small amount of only seven
rooms to each corridor retains the individuality and creates atractive conditions of neighbourhood proximity. The corridor, naturally lit, provides views
to the exterior at its end and widens towards the central area. The commonly used facilities such as the elevators and the staircase, are arranged
between the two corridors. This layout results in four cross-connections allowing alternative possibilites of access. In the common rooms a gallery
with a narrow staircase offers a subsidiary connection between the storeys. The vertical connections are exceptionally elaborate, so that even
the cleaners' balconies to the north have a vertical connection made by the fire-escape stairs. The interior organisation has several
careful considered features which enhance the value of the building from a social point of view. The rooms were furnished according to the design
by the architect. Althoug they show a certain standardization, they vary in several parameters.
On the outside the manifoldness of the interior is hardly detectable. On the contrary, the exterior appearances is of a pronounced repetition.
The building is considered to be a manifesto of high-rise architecture in Switzerland, emphasizing progress and slenderness of construction.
There is no base and no attic, slim bands of exposed reinforced concrete slabs emphasize the verticality and seem to rise out of the garden
in front of them. These vertical bands do not end at the top storey but rise higher and are folded back to define an open air space on the roof.
This results in a slight dissolution of the building structure and creates a sublime hint at a building crown. Between these vertical bands,
made of white cement, there are the windows and parapet elements made of Eternit. The north and south elevations are different. On the south
side is created a leap in scale by the subsuming of two storeys at a time. This changes the face of the building and signs its force and identity
even from distance. Between the two lim and high concrete slabs are stacked the large windowed volumes and recessed open balconies in front of glazed walls.
This façade is of a monumental expression and features a strong alternating plasticity. This front is considerd to be an architectonic expression
of the complexity of the inner life.
The high-rise building is located in the so-called region "Platte", a rather flat zone on the slope above the eastern part of the historic town of Zurich,
just at the point where the Zürichberg begint to become steeper. In this area, a considerable number of institutes of national significance have set up
their headquarters. As a consequence there are to be found the buildings of the Federal Institute of Technology, the University, the Cantonal and
University Hospital, as well as grammar schools and faculties. The staff residence is located on a limited site, in midst of the mentioned institutes,
with a grassed open space of a schoolsports faility in front. This building was honoured with several awards. 30 years after its construction,
the staff building was renovated by Jakob Zweifel and Benjamin Pfister. To meet the changed requirements of the hospital staff, the interior was redesigned
and larger apartments with private bathrooms were integrated, together with several other changes.