Charlotte Bitter & Insa Streit

When walking through Regensdorf we discovered many buildings in the industrial context that were transformed to fit different uses. For example an office building, that accommodates a mosque: A new program in an existing structure, that behaves disobedient to type. Constant transformation also took place at the Gretag-conglomerate, the site of interest. Between the layers of time unplanned situations could unfold, that led to unexpected qualities. We became interested in the potential of accidental situations and how the friction within existing situations can become productive.

Our proposal deals with the transformation of an office building on site. As a design strategy we juxtaposed the apartment types of the Zwhatt development with the structure of an existing office building. Moments of friction took place. We found value within those frictions. They add value to the apartments by adding the possibility of extension, common space and more particular ways of living together.