Wankdorf City II Bern
Wankdorf City II Bern

The development of public transport connections for this project is exemplary. Ursula Wyss, Director for Civil Engineering, Transport and Urban Greenery

Wankdorf City II Bern
Wankdorf City II Bern

CLIENT
Losinger Marazzi SA/AG, Bern

COMPLETION
2019

SIZE
38.000 sqm GFA

COLLABORATION
GWJ ARCHITEKTUR, Bern

VISUALISATIONS
Play-Time, Barcelona

Wankdorf City II Bern

With its reinterpretation of the usage mix advertised for bids, ASTOC together with GWJ Architektur won the competition in 2015: Instead of stacking various types of apartments for very different target markets on top of each other in high-rises, all usages were otherwise distributed in favour of high-quality, public space in response to the surrounding area. Urban development interventions such as an alleyway between a high-rise and student accommodation ensure a navigable environment. The student accommodation directed its gaze inwards through the use of patios with compact flats and high-quality communal areas in the nave of the building.

The high-rise takes on a key position as an example of a mixed, vertical city and a usage structure offering maximum flexibility. An external support structure enables the ground plans around the fixed development core to be freely apportioned. Hotel and high-rise were brought forward to establish the location as a sought-after address and with their metropolitan silhouette, they represent a nod to Rosalia-Wenger-Platz at the station. Small-scale usages are thus inserted into the large-format projects of the master plan with urban planning sensitivity, while paying homage to the status quo.

The ensemble containing commercial usages on the ground floors, is being created within an existing master plan which is marked by voluminous office buildings with metal façades between motorway 1 and the railway lines. With the first residential usage implemented in the district, the ensemble is playing a formative role in determining the quality of future housing standards.

Wankdorf City II Bern
Wankdorf City II Bern