e2a architects: center for hearing and language

center for hearing and language, zurich-wollishofen by e2a architects all photos by dominique marc wehrli courtesy e2a architects

swiss e2a architects have sent in images of their project – the center for hearing and language located in zurich, switzerland. the park-like site is dominated by a bulky, authoritative old school building from the early twentieth century that has had many extensions added. in order to not detract from this building, the most new building has been set in the garden as a solitary building. rotated from the existing geometry, the new center faces up to the main building.

the new center appears as a one-storey pavilion versus the main building. physiotherapy rooms and the entrance area form the one storey porch. behind, classrooms, with related adjoining rooms, are on four floors. the entrance area, corridors and stairways are thought as one open space, kept rough and supposedly colorless. the classrooms, are built with colored materials: wall linings in colored timber products/durable chrome steel, wall plasterwork with magnetite/lime, floors in oiled oak industry parquet. the new building is clad in raw aluminum and only the main facades remain free. the aluminium skin is perforated and appears as a woven curtain.

section view

section view

floor plan

floor plan

floor plan

floor plan

site plan

project info: center for hearing and language, zurich-wollishofen client: canton of zurich, building department canton of zurich, education authority center for hearing and language, zurich program: 8 class rooms (2 of which useable as kindergarten) max. 5-6 pupils / 4 adjoining rooms for individualized teaching (e.g. speech therapy) / 1 physiotherapy, occupational therapy room (divisible) / 1 storage room foot print: 382m2 gross floor area: 1055 m2 gross volume: 4347 m3

credits:     architects: e2a eckert eckert architekten ag, zurich wim eckert, piet eckert project team: sebastian holzhausen, adrian heusser, vesna brandestini, stefanie scherer, benjamin nordmann, tom weiss building managment: oppliger von gunten baumanagement, zurich structure: urech bärtschi maurer ag, zurich landscape architect: nipkow landschaftsarchitektur, zurich façade engineering: roffler ingenieurberatungen, malans hvsc: huustechnik rechberger ag, zurich electric engineering: thomas lüem partner ag, dietikon building physics: leuthard + mäder, bruttisellen