Juch site to become a beacon of circular construction
Graber Pulver Architekten from Zurich won the competition of the City of Zurich for the planned new building of the recycling centre Juch-Areal in Zurich-Altstetten. It is to become a beacon project of the circular construction industry.
Graber Pulver Architekten AG from Zurich has won the architectural competition of the City of Zurich for the planned new building of the recycling centre Juch-Areal of Entsorgung + Recycling Zürich(ERZ) in Zurich-Altstetten. With the new building, the Zurich Office for Structural Engineering and the ERZ want to create a pioneering project in the recycling of building components, according to a media release.
According to the statement, they want to “explore to the maximum the possibilities of reusing building components and the potential of the circular construction industry in public buildings”. For this reason, the submitted competition projects should feature as high a proportion of reused components as possible.
For example, most of the building material for the winning project came from the immediate vicinity of Zurich. Used reinforced concrete slabs are used in the operations building and the hall floor. The walls consist of wooden frame constructions insulated with old books, magazines and clothes. Discarded scaffolding will be repurposed as storage shelves. The existing hall structure is to be rebuilt only slightly adapted.
The façades will be protected from the weather by panels of recycled glass and aluminium as well as old kitchen covers, doors and table tops. The greening of the façades will provide a habitat for plants and animals and ensure local heat reduction.
By using old building components, the city of Zurich saves almost 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to a conventional new building. This corresponds to a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases.
Second place went to Studio Hammer from Basel. Third place went to the Zurich-based consortium Studio Burkhardt and Lucas Michael Architektur.