Modulverantwortung: Prof. Annika Seifert
Lehrteam: Prof. Annika Seifert, Prof. Luca Deon
Assistent: Anthony Frank

Light | Mass  —  Dwelling in Existing Fabric, Wellisareal
Exploring different forms of urban dwelling, working with light and shadow from a typological and climatic perspective and finding compelling ways to convert an existing structure to new use – these themes will be the focus of our interest in the spring semester.
Our starting point is the redevelopment of an industrial site on the outskirts of the city of Willisau in the Canton of Lucerne. Organs were originally manufactured on the Wellisareal; later it was increasingly characterised by furniture production. In 2021, the architectural office of Herzog & de Meuron (HdM) proposed a design plan in which the site will be developed as a new urban building block with mixed use ranging from the existing industrial snd commercial use by way of housing and workplaces to public open spaces. This basic disposition provides the foundation for our task; in contrast to HdM’s scenario, however, we will preserve a seven-storey warehouse tower, which they propose to demolish, and instead explore converting it into a residential building. In this typological transformation, we deliberately ask energy-relevant questions of the architectural design: What do diverse housing types of different size that make use of the qualities of the existing structure look like? How do we counter the large floor depth of the building with adequate natural lighting? How can an intelligent interplay of thermal mass, façade and sunlight meet the challenges of Switzerland’s climate and its distinct seasons? How much architectural intervention in the existing building fabric is necessary to successfully convert it to a new use?