Areal Gleis 11

Solothurn, 2025

We are convinced that the key to the future of the site lies in its past, and once this continuity is recognized, there is no need to worry about finding a distinctive future identity for this place. Forty years ago, a cluster of sheds and houses stood alongside the printing buildings. They were aligned with the dead-end tracks that ran past or into the houses, and so they stood close together in the characteristic fan shape that only occurs at track junctions. The alignment of the buildings with the fanned-out tracks is still visible in the existing structure. However, this structure has now been agglomerated with all kinds of «connective tissue». 

We make the fan shape our leitmotif. To do this, we first remove the connecting components in the existing structure and develop three sharply contoured structures out of it, each with its own character, to which we add further structures in a second step. These new buildings, elegant in their narrow, tall profile, stand fanned out like the old houses once did, but in a new location and in a new size. We imagine additional tracks, track 12 and track 13, whose imaginary course aligns the new houses...

However, the analogy between the new development and the former one does not simply rekindle a nostalgic narrative, but rather provides a powerful image for the future of the location. The dense group of buildings forms an exciting silhouette that immediately catches the eye when viewed from the train or car. The buildings follow the flow of traffic, but not in the form of a long line, rather in short, compact structures. These leave deep gaps open, allowing views of the vast landscape and light to penetrate the density of the urban space. 

When converting industrial sites, the same key question always arises: How can a «forbidden city» become part of the urban fabric? The answers are also similar: by upgrading the edges of the site with stimulating uses, by creating inviting access points to the interior of the site, by providing intuitive paths across the site, but also by creating «quiet zones» that serve as places of retreat and open up areas for participation.

The dimensions are exciting, and not just for Solothurn: 400 to 500 people will live here in the near future! All buildings are therefore public: along Zuchwilerstrasse, commercial uses benefit from visibility in the street space, while on the railway side, the daycare center is sheltered, and the office of CH-Media and the co-working spaces have an address that can be prominently displayed to all train passengers by means of illuminated advertising. The same applies to the radio studio in the old printing plant, whose spaces on the «vestibule» level turn listeners into viewers!

Two squares regulate the relationships between the locations: the sunny, exposed «Eichenhof» on Zuchwilerstrasse becomes the outdoor seating area for the café and a space for potential for shop and co-working users, while the «Innenhof» is more dedicated to internal use. «Right in the middle», where the two courtyards meet, is where the meeting place for the neighborhood is located: at the intersection of paths and the focal point of sightlines.

The diversity of the existing buildings provides an opportunity to expand the range of housing options. The new printing plant will house cool lofts for «digital nomads», while the old printing plant will feature classic apartments behind quarry stone walls: «Trainspotting» for seniors! The new buildings deliberately mix larger and smaller apartments so that young couples, families, flat shares, and seniors can live together in a dense neighborhood. 

Thanks to their versatile floor plans, the standard houses respond ideally to the existing buildings. This not only allows for the desired mix of apartments across the entire site, but also for diversity within the buildings themselves.