The Murezzan St Moritz Building, Swiss Housing Photos, Homes, Architect, Design, Images
The Murezzan St Moritz : Housing Switzerland
Upper Engadine Residential Development in Switzerland design by Foster + Partners Architects
21 Nov 2008
The Murezzan
Location: St Moritz, Upper Engadine, Switzerland
Dates built: 2003-07
Design: Foster + Partners, Architects
The practice designed the Murezzan Housing Development to be a complement to the unique civic environment of St Moritz, and a unified combination of contemporary and historic elements.
photograph : Nigel Young, Foster & Partners
Located in the Upper Engadine, one of Switzerland’s most scenic valleys, St Moritz receives up to a quarter of a million visitors a year, who are attracted to the famed natural beauty and alpine pursuits.
photos : Nigel Young, Foster & Partners
The architecture practice designed the Murezzan Housing Development to be a complement to the unique civic environment of St Moritz, and a unified combination of contemporary and historic elements. The project resulted from a close working relationship between Norman Foster, the client AG Post und Merkatorium, and the project design team.
photos : Nigel Young, Foster & Partners
The Murezzan involves the complete refurbishment of two existing buildings, the Albana Hotel (1907) and Posthotel (1908), and the construction of one new building, the Chesa, to provide a mixed-use residential development which includes sixty apartments. The Foster studio researched the original plans in order to renovate the existing buildings, which had suffered a series of ill-conceived alterations.
The design is inspired by vernacular tradition, with proportions and materials, such as timber, concrete, and the distinctive Sgraffito rendering, which refer to local precedent. Bay windows are used throughout to accentuate the lake views and draw inhabitants into the spectacular alpine landscape. A rich mix of ground-level retail has been reinstated to animate the buildings and engage passing pedestrians.
photos : Nigel Young, Foster & Partners
The Murrezan balances urban sensitivity with domestic comfort. Drawing from the hospitality industry, the Foster design combines the warmth and tradition of the family hotel with the grand hotel’s extroversion and comfort, and the designer hotel’s fashionable and informal charm. Each of the apartments is unique, reflecting the diversity of the original buildings, the demands of different lifestyles, and the sophisticated residential market. The practice’s signature contemporary interior design is allied with more traditional elements, such as fireplaces and wooden floors, which are familiar icons of an alpine lifestyle.
photos : Nigel Young, Foster & Partners
The buildings are linked to one another through sky bridges and an underground passage that leads to the underground parking facilities. Views have been maximised throughout. The original entrance to the Posthotel is restored, revealing lake views, and the Chesa juxtaposes retail on the northern urban side, and residential on the southern lake side. All of the apartments are fully serviced and the Murezzan development also includes a restaurant with a bar and lounge, shops, a fitness centre and associated amenities, and 130 subterranean car parks.
The Murezzan St Moritz – Building Information
Client: AG Post und Merkatorium
Consultants: Holzbau Amann, Edwin Keller AG
The Murezzan St Moritz images / information from Foster + Partners
The Murezzan St Moritz design : Foster + Partners
Location: Murezzan, St Moritz, Switzerland
Architecture in Switzerland
Swiss Architecture Designs – chronological list
Andermatt Concert Hall Building, canton of Uri
Design: Studio Seilern Architects
image courtesy of architects
Andermatt Concert Hall Building
Swiss Buildings – Selection
Double family house, Küsnacht
Design: Burkhalter Sumi Architekten
photograph : Heinrich Helfenstein
Glärnischstrasse Küsnacht
Apartmenthouse Siewerdtstrasse, Zurich
Design: EM2N
photograph : Hannes Henz
Apartmenthouse Siewerdtstrasse – Zurich Flats
3d Housing, Collina d’Oro
Design: Nicola Probst
3d Housing
Seewurfel, Mixed-Use Regeneration Development
Design: Camenzind Evolution
Seewurfel Housing
Han Bit Housing
Design: Burkhalter Sumi Architekten
Swiss housing
Architecture Walking Tours by e-architect
The Murezzan St Moritz designers : Foster + Partners Architects
Comments / photos for The Murezzan St Moritz Architecture page welcome