Casa Giesserei - E

LOCATION / HISTORY

Casa Giesserei is part of the Saurer WerkZwei site. This extensive former industrial plot is situated south of the historic old town of Arbon. It is only a few metres from the shores of the lake. The railway station and main street are very close by. Ernst Niklaus Fausch Architekten divided this ideally connected site into various construction areas using a zoning plan. The volumes of the new buildings are comparable in scale to the former industrial structures which have either been preserved or demolished.

The square construction site C is in the middle of the approx. 200 000 m2 converted plot. Today, this has become a valuable city neighbourhood which contains bothresidential and commercial and shopping spaces. The construction site is integrated along the orthogonal path and street grid which follows the railway line and is precisely oriented along the compass points. To the north is a park, a green corridor which bridges the slight slanting of this grid to the west. To the south, the construction site borders onto the Saurerplatz, an open area with trees and seating, surrounded by new and existing buildings.

Casa Giesserei’s name is reminiscent of the industrial past of the site. It offers housing for the elderly requiring various degrees of care. The interaction with the surrounding neighbourhood is an integral part of the identity of Casa Giesserei and its operating concept. It also defines the building’s architecture.

DESIGN / ARCHITECTURE

The location on the Saurerplatz required a specific construction type suited to the central site. The architect’s reaction was to create a simple, clear building outline along the border of the construction site and a generously sized, landscaped interior courtyard. On the street side, the building has three stories, whereas on the Saurerplatz and park sides to the north, there are five. The cubic, closed, solid construction is broken up by generous terraces on the upper stories which give the impression of rooftop apartments both on the main and lower lateral blocks.

Prefabricated exposed concrete elements divide the rear-ventilated façade with a regular, decorative joint alignment. Together with the slightly set-back exposed concrete fillers and the large window openings, they create several levels in the building structure which reflect the supports and loads and give the building visual weight and plasticity. As for the existing industrial buildings, there is deliberately no base storey. The lime green fabric blinds and parasols in the same colour in the courtyard give a colourful touch.

Casa Giesserei offers 59 apartments of various sizes ; one care unit is equipped with 24 individual nursing rooms and 6 transitional care points. In addition, there is a public restaurant with wine tasting and smoking rooms, a spa area with sauna, whirlpool bath, fitness room, hairdresser and podiatrists. The main entrance is off the Saurerplatz where the public restaurant is also located ; the reception desk gives access to the public and communal ground floor areas. Connections are made along a «cloister», a corridor around the inner courtyard. The four staircases are also organised nearby.

The care unit is situated on the first upper floor. The cloister is completed here by a large, roofless terrace above the landscaped courtyard. It borders onto the multi-use room used as a living and dining area. On the Saurerplatz side, this communal centre of the care unit enjoys a glazed, conservatory-type loggia. Each care room is designed according to the standards of elderly care residences and is equipped with its own, large bathroom and a private loggia.

The choice of accommodation for the elderly on the upper floors ranges from one to three bedroom units. They each have their own loggia. Some apartments face both outwards and onto the interior courtyard. They are all wheelchair-accessible and step-free. Tenants benefit from in-house services such as a concierge service, laundry, care and the various services on offer on the ground floor.

SUSTAINABILITY

Like all buildings on the Saurer WerkZwei site, Casa Giesserei is connected to the Arbon Energie AG district heating network. Heat is delivered in the form of hot water. After being heated efficiently at a heating plant, the water is pumped into a closed-circuit system. Ventilation devices are equipped with heat recovery properties. The building is also equipped with fresh water stations.