WankdorfCity II high-rise building Bern
New mixed-use building at Wankdorf station
With restaurants, offices and apartments on 16 floors, the high-rise building in WankdorfCity shows how urban mixed use can be achieved on a compact footprint.
The demolition of a former slaughterhouse in Bern’s Wankdorf district has created the conditions for the development of a new urban and service quarter along the main Swiss railway line between Zurich and Bern. The development of WankdorfCity creates urgently needed space for the expansion of the city of Bern between the highway and the railroad line – a location that is both well connected and burdened by emissions. Urban planning and architecture require a high degree of robustness in order to ensure quality, durability and openness of use.
The master plan shows a large-scale structure on a relatively small area, which is rather atypical for Bern. However, urbanity is created not only through good connections and a mix of living and working, but also through urban depth. In addition to a central, urban square and a clear orientation axis, the new quarter also offers a second pathway for discovering alternative routes and small places.
Together with the neighboring student residence building and the hotel, the high-rise forms an ensemble in the center of the new district. The design makes use of the given possibilities of the master plan and allows the high point to ‘step forward’. It detaches itself from the long building and steps onto the square, creating a second row in the depth of the district.
With the high-rise building, WankdorfCity is gaining an urban highpoint directly on Rosalia-Wenger-Platz with uses ranging from restaurants to offices and apartments. Thanks to its prominent position on Wankdorfallee and its robust architectural design, it will become a symbol of the new identity of the district.
At 60 metres high, the high-rise forms the high point of the area. It is set slightly forward from the building line of Wankdorfallee: a deliberate urban planning step into the square. This advancement makes the building the first point of contact in WankdorfCity, whether approaching on foot via the Magistrale or from the opposite railway station. Simultaneously, its positioning creates distance from the neighbouring residential building and opens up space for the public square.
The load-bearing structure – a compact circulation core combined with an external column structure – enables not only flexible floor plan configurations but also adaptable distribution of uses. On the ground floor, a restaurant with a colonnade zone opens onto the square: a public, lively interface between the building and the urban space. Above this are four office floors, followed by ten storeys of short- and long-stay apartments.
The modular structure allows the ratio of office to residential use to be adapted to market developments in the future. The units vary in size and layout, offering space for different forms of living and working. With its urban positioning, constructive clarity and robust materiality, the high-rise is a sustainable and flexible urban building block.
From the successful competition strategy to implementation in the detailed design: the Wankdorf City high-rise, with its use-neutral building concept in an urbanistically rather robust environment, creates opportunities for urban mix within a compact footprint and through unobtrusive interventions, both for today and for future uses.
Client
Losinger Marazzi SA/AG, Bern
Size
approx. 14.800 m² GFA
Planning and Implementation
2016-2019
Service
1st prize in competition, building design SIA 31–53
Collaboration
GWJ Architecture, Bern (CH)
Credits: Damian Poffet
