Page 130 - AIT0420_E-Paper

BÜRO UND VERWALTUNG • OFFICE BUILDINGS INNERE WERTE • INNER VALUES

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4. OG: Räume der Geschäftsleitung • 4 upper floor: rooms of the company management

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4. OG: Sitzungszimmer mit Blick in die Orangerie • 4 upper floor: meeting room with a view of the orangery 3. OG: Die zweigeschossige Orangerie • 3 upper floor: the two-storey orangery
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W ho is not familiar with the seasoning bottles, instant soups and bouillon cubes ner+Blackart had designed it as a one-storey construction and added two storeys in
1940. The development in height can be seen on the façade in the change from horizon-
and sauces with the yellow-red logo? Only a very few, however, probably know
that originally Julius Maggi wanted to improve the eating habits of working-class fami- tal to vertical window openings.
lies when he took over his father’s mill in 1896. For this goal and at the company head-
quarters in Kemptthal in Switzerland, since 1884 the entrepreneur first produced flour The attractiveness of the halls is still space-structuring today
from protein-rich pulses, the so-called leguminous plants. Maggi subsequently expan-
ded his company into one of the first industrial food-processing facilities of Switzerland. Inside, airy, high, bright volumes – levels with galleries – reflect the production process.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a homogeneous, striking ensemble of brick buil- Historic photographs show the functions these intermediate levels had: At the top were
dings was constructed on an elongated site, parallel to today’s railway line from Win- the deliveries, at the bottom the filling stations. The building sections also differ in a
terthur to Zurich. In 1947, Maggi merged with Nestlé AG and, in 2002, the Kemptthal formal-constructional way: The ground floor is characterized by pillars with strong ca-
Maggi site was sold to the Givaudan, the group producing flavourings and fragrances. pitals, the upper floors by more elegant mushroom supports. Ernst Niklaus Flausch
The location is considered to be an important contemporary witness of the Swiss indu- Partner succeeded in preserving and emphasizing this unique structure in the course of
strial history and is also classified as “Bundesinventar der schützenswerten Ortsbilder the refurbishing and a further addition of two levels. The attractiveness and generosity
der Schweiz von nationaler Bedeutung”, ISOS in short. At the time, Debrunner+Blankart of the halls and their galleries is still space-structuring today. That was why installations
as the company architects had designed the majority of the buildings on the Maggi site. for building technology at the ceilings were taboo for the architects. All the heating-,
With the name The Valley, the latter is now to be revived over the coming years and de- ventilation-, electric- and communication components were integrated into specifically
veloped into a high-quality location for new workplaces. For this purpose, Ernst Niklaus developed balustrade elements in the façades as well as into vertical shafts in the area
Fausch Partner from Zurich not only developed a new master- but also a design plan. of the existing staircases. Internal cladding ensures the necessary thermal and acoustic
New buildings and floor additions are to restore the original density of the 1940s. The insulation. Together with the Aarau architect and interior designer Verena Frey, Ernst Ni-
existing central access axis is to become the new, strong backbone of the site. This sim- klaus Fausch Partner developed the furnishing- and utilization concept. The porcelain
ple numbering is the name of the former soup-filling station and crate-construction sec- ball lamps visible in the original photographs are, today, textile, cosy-looking luminous
tion, a striking, solid volume covered with light-coloured clinker bricks. In 1931, Debrun- balloons. To preserve the open character of the halls, compact workstations in the form

130 • AIT 4.2020