The purchase of a flat can be demanding and often the choice on the property market is limited. All the more important it is to consider the furnishing to the flat carefully.

Small constructional changes can remedy annoying inconveniences. And only a good choice and positioning of the furniture will use the whole potential of a flat.

With simple means, a lot of phantasy and some patience individual desires can be met creating a comfortable home that caters to the inhabitants' needs.

Pictures will be available when the project is finished.

A young couple wanted to make their dream of their own gym come true. They train girls to compete in the so called bikini class in bodybuilding. They already knew for a long time what kind of equipment they would want to buy. And also a suitable space was found in Regensdorf after some search: they would be the first to move into a building shell that has been empty for a while.

In order to build a changing room it was necessary to obtain a building permit, the space had to be planned carefully to make the most out of the 180 square meters and accommodate all the wishes for a divers functionality, and finally it had to be as cheap as possible. A difficult combination!

In only just half a year from signing the contracts (and employing the architecture firm) to the inauguration party all this was achieved. Thereby the owners of the gym lend more than just one hand and were open for unconventional ideas like the chain of lights normally used in beer gardens that makes up the light installation in the changing room.

Pictures can be found on this website under the heading 'news'.

An apartment building in Goldach for six families from the 1950s was in bad need of renovation. Only the most urgent tasks have been tackled ever since it was built.

The heating installation was taken care of in the preceding year because it broke down just before the weather turned cold. In order to prevent similarly daunting problems with the water supply, the plumbing was replaced in the spring. This was taken as a chance to revive the outdated bathrooms. Since the electrical installation had to be brought up to date as well, the bathrooms could be enlarged by a little bit which allowed for a different, more generous layout.

In a last stage for now the old doors and windows with very low insulating values were replaced. The costs had to be kept down of course. Still, it was possible to liven up the existing design of the windows in the staircase with their pronounced divisions and up to now white infills on the facade with colour. Thereby the size of the windowpanes was chosen to that the inhabitants are now protected from falling out.

The building should be ready now to tackle the next 50 years and you can find pictures on this homepage under the heading 'news'.

A beautiful old house, still in its original state, however, not up to date in its structural-physical standard – what to do in such a situation?

This concept proposes a kind of overlay of an old and a new house. As in a Venn diagram in set theory, there is intersection of the old house and the new house, there is an old part and there is a new part.

The new open plan building has big windows and excellent insulation values. The old building brings its spatial pattern , its detailing and character. In the intersection an interesting play of old and new, inside and outside is created.

The old part houses tempered access and side rooms. The new part offers a generous and light space for living. Where the two intersect, well-insulated smaller rooms are created.

Until now the project is just an idea. The owner decided to continue living in the old house for now. You have an old house and are at a loss what to do with it... Why don't you get in touch?

A small shop selling homemade ice-cream at Lindenplatz in Altstetten would like to offer seating outside so that its customers can enjoy an ice-cream or something else from its selection of delicacies while enjoying the sunshine.

Several attempts have been made – however, they all failed since the situation is very complex with a lot a regulation, various types of permits and many parties involved: there is the owner of the property, other occupants with their own agenda, various sections of the department for health and safety, the department of conservation and finally several departments of the police. At the same time it is important for the shop owner to find a simple solution – low priced and fast.

The coordination of these in parts contrary interests is a challenge. But a delicious ice-cream in the sun is waiting as a reward...

Over the years, the owner of a single family house in Baden – very handy at DIY – created themselves a comfortable home.

Now they want to realise their dream of a light-flooded living and dining room with a view to the Lägern which they always enjoyed on their terrace.

Therefore the terrace will be glazed, living room and kitchen will be opened up and the kitchen area will be reorganised.

Structurally not trivial, the desired lightness will be achieved with massive steel beams hidden in the ceiling which will replace the former brick walls.

Pictures of the finished project and of the building process can be found on this website under the heading 'news'.

A young couple inherited a house from their grandmother.

The house was built in the 70's. Prefabricated elements are placed on a basement out of concrete.

In order to economise, the basement should be kept, while the upper half will be replaces to satisfy the wish for a fresh and generous home.

There are lots of ideas... The task now is to find out what is possible and how best to achieve that.

Organisational diagrams, spatial diagrams, analysis of infrastructure, comparison of scenarios, and graphical representation thereof used to support the users' interests.

A small renovation was planned.

Formerly residential, the house was converted into an office in the 70’s. The idea was to partially undo the conversion in order to allow for a combination of life and work in a single place.

However, the process to get a building permission proved to be very difficult.

Many requirements with conflicting interestes from the City Councils and the Council of the Canton had to be considered. Only patience and an increase of the budget made it possible to satisfy all parties.

Nevertheless, the renovation is now almost done. You can find pictures of the work in progress and of the results on this website under the header 'news'.

Maybe it would be time to consider the consequences of such strict regulation and disproportionate requirements, weighing them against the benefits feasable conversion can have for the city.