Recognition award for vertical greening made of steel
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The Prix Acier 2023 awards the green façade of the central warehouse on the ewz site in Zurich Herdern with the recognition prize. The structural engineers from Basler & Hofmann win together with Meili Peter & Partner and R&G Metallbau.
The nine-member jury selected twelve finalists from 30 submitted projects. At the award ceremony in Fribourg on November 28, four winners were presented with prizes, two recognition prizes and the audience award. The winning façade greening is a filigree steel construction consisting of inclined supports and cable compartments that form both a landscape space and a support structure. The entire Herdern site of Elektrizitätswerke Zürich (ewz) is currently being renovated and optimized in several stages.
Improving the urban climate
The area surrounding the new central warehouse is densely built-up and extensively sealed. The aim was to design a construction that would enable vertical greening of the building façade with various types of climbing plants and thus have a positive effect on the urban climate. A contribution to reducing heat and increasing biodiversity in the industrial quarter, which the client is making with the support of Grün Stadt Zürich.
Sustainability and efficiency as an integral part of the design
The design idea was developed in an intensive study of variants in a dialog between architecture and structural engineering. With low material consumption and without complex bracing or deep foundations, it can also withstand the considerable wind loads that can act on the approx. 300 m2 vertical growth area.
Project partners
Architecture: Meili, Peter & Partner AG
Structural engineering: Basler & Hofmann AG
Steel/metal construction company: Metallbau AG
Other project partners: Jakob AG, Specogna AG, ARGF Hämmerle Partner AG and hssp AG, Müller Illien GmbH
About the Prix Acier
The Swiss Steel Construction Center SZS awards the Swiss Steel and Metal Construction Prize every two years. The Prix Acier was awarded for the 9th time in 2023. The prize is awarded to buildings that embody the architectural quality and performance of steel and metal construction. The Prix Acier explicitly recognizes the collaboration between the client, architects, engineers and steel construction companies.
ewz Werkhof Herdern - Facade greening of the central warehouse - Stahlbau Zentrum Schweiz SZS
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