At over 100 years old and requiring renovation, the Stadthaus Switzerland,underwent comprehensive renovation and additional stories were added in 2018/2019. This height extension rises dramatically above the existing building, enabling a new project to rise from the old. The new façade clad with brown aluminum profiles does not project into the foreground, but rather allows the contrast between old and new to unfold quietly. The balconies at the rear of the building are integrated into this horizontal slat construction and, when the shutters are closed, they disappear nearly completely into the façade. The folding sliding shutters with Hawa Frontfold 20 fittings which are used on the exterior divide the exterior building volume into two clearly distinguishable areas. When the folding sliding shutters are closed, the height addition appears as a homogeneous volume on top of the existing structure.
The shutters have been harmoniously integrated into the façade elevation. Guide and running tracks, as well as the slats of the shutters blend into the structure of the façade. Conversely, no separation between the old and new constructions is evident in the interior, where the existing structure and the height addition meld into a unitary interior.