Lucerne School of Art and Design in Emmenbrücke
- Claudia Fuchs
Yarn has been produced for more than one hundred years in Emmenbrücke, a city just a few kilometres north of Lucerne. In the next few years a new heterogeneous district – “Viscosistadt” (literally, viscose city) – will emerge on an industrial compound that had once been off-limits to the public. The existing buildings’ variety – and the new uses that have already been introduced in some of them – is to be maintained and will be complemented by new apartment buildings. The Zurich-based architects EM2N prepared the master plan for the development of the factory grounds, and as the first project on a new Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts campus, the architects converted Bau 745 (Building 745), a former factory building. The large-scale building, which was erected in 1970, is a long-span structure with generously dimensioned interiors. To preserve the compelling synthesis of engineering and architecture, as well as the character of the spaces, EM2N kept the interventions in the building fabric to a minimum. Accordingly, the building’s basic structure is unchanged; existing facades were equipped with a thermal insulation composite system and new windows. As the only substantive change, the high-bay stack shelving on the west side was removed and the facade was extensively glazed. The lofty, open ground floor contains an event space, a cinema, exhibition spaces, a cafeteria, and a library, and is conceived of as a place of interaction for both students and visitors. The three levels above it offer some 380 students large, highly flexible ateliers, as well as workshops, sound studios, and classrooms. The basement holds acoustically insulated sound studios and editing workspaces; these spaces are lit via a sunken courtyard. The administrative offices – on the fourth floor – required minimal changes to the spatial structure. The alterations made to the west side – an escape stair and escape balcony in steel construction were inserted – produced a sunny, informal outdoor space: the lofty pergola is every bit as lively as the roof terrace above the flanking library. The interventions make the special atmosphere of the creative district perceptible both indoors and out.
