Modulverantwortung: Peter Althaus
Lehrteam: Peter Althaus, Johannes Käferstein, Felix Wettstein, Luca Deon, Axel Humpert
Assistant: Shehrie Islamaj

Keeping what’s good– The former Gelatin Factory in Winterthur

South of the ‘Winterthur Grüze‘ train station lies the eponymous district, one of the most important areas for development in the city, one that still has industrial and commercial character. It is reasonable to assume that the district around the train station will evolve into a second centre by 2030. Big changes are already evident east of Seenerstrasse, including the public ‘Eulachpark‘ and the adjacent large-scale apartment complex on the former industrial site of Sulzer AG. But the planned ‘Querung Grüze’ (Grüze Crossing), a large bridge for buses that will turn the Grüze train station into the central hub of public transport for the eastern part of the city, is also a sign of the district’s importance to the development of Winterthur.

The goal of the Master’s thesis is to make valuable contributions to the urban planning and architecture for a forward-looking, urban and green approach to work and housing. The first reflections, initially on urban planning, should discuss above all the relationship between new and existing buildings. In the spirit of sustainability, increasing density in a very important hub in the centre of the city, while minimising the need for cars, makes it necessary to increase use substantially. The resulting conflict in dealing with the existing fabric necessitates taking a position of one’s own. In addition to integration into an already very heterogeneous but very urban context, one central question is how housing and workplaces can be reconciled. Will it be necessary again today to have an apartment for a family above a craft business in the centre of the city?

Site Visit Wed 22 February 2023, 09.15 in Winterthur