Römerstrasse Baden
The city of Baden owes its name to the hot springs at the Limmatknie. The Römerstrasse, named after the builders, leads from the town centre to the industrial area. This is where Brown, Boveri & Cie – today's ABB – was founded in 1891. A villa of the founders and the large industrial site bear witness to the former glamour of the location. Somewhat peripherally, on the wooded hillside facing the Limmat, stand four pavilion-like extension buildings from the 1960s. Thanks to a successful competition in 2010, the filigree office structure could be converted into 78 condominiums and occupied in 2022.
The core of the design is an enfilade of sottoportegos – public passageways on the ground floor – which forms the backbone of the four volumes and connects the access. The staircases are now located in the belly of the building and stiffen the structure, which is defined by the efficient use of materials. The theme of the enfilade is continued in the spacious flats, and the structurally necessary interventions in the concrete cassette ceiling also manifest themselves in the form of massive, room- structuring columns and partition walls for the flats. As a contrast, a filigree, apron- like façade with a dynamic ballet of textile marquees winds around the buildings and brings back some of the old glory. Thanks to the preservation of the building structure, the site-specific context of the river space persists and a seamless chapter in Baden's urban development has been continued.
