The Hotel Baur au Lac was one of the very first hotels in Zurich and it was also one of the first buildings at the lake front outside the old city walls. Its relationship to the lake and rivers has always been very tight. At the time of opening it was new to face a hotel towards the lake instead of the city and the hotel was revolutionary to make this part of their luxury concept to provide for their guests. The construction history of the hotel is also a result of the urban development over the centuries, for example, to the opening of the Schanzengraben and the Froeschnengraben. The disappearing of the Froeschnengraben resulted in the extension in the back of the hotel to almost double size. Its most recent development was the construction of a water pipe to the lake to pump lake water for their new thermal energy system. we found that this was a truly contemporary aspect of how the hotel relates to the water.
The facades of the hotel are very closed on all sides. Different kind of blinds prevent any views from the outside to the interior of the hotel (photos).
The circulation system is transformed into a paper model.
Collaboration with Johannes Hoppensack.
Patricia Himeka Wepfer 