The «Hänggiturm» (a type of tower to hang out the fabrics to dry) in Ennenda-Tschachen is one of the largest and most impressive «Hänggitürme» preserved in the canton and is undoubtedly a fascinating contemporary! It goes without saying that it is the real protagonist of the area's development. Because those towers were never solitary buildings, but always embedded in dense ensembles of production buildings with printing rooms, drawing rooms, machine rooms and laundries, it will also be surrounded by lower new buildings in the future. Their longitudinal alignment follows the tower, which reinforces the connection between the existing and new buildings. Similarities between the tower and the new buildings are also obvious in their rectangular shape, in their mineral plinth under a wooden structure and in the widely overhanging pitched roof.
The square at Hänggiturm, «Hänggiturmplatz», gives the district an attractive entrance and Tschachen a village centre. This square is framed on its long sides by two new buildings. The one to the north is set back slightly to give Hänggiturm an appropriate presence on the square which is named after it.
We are fascinated by the structural regularity that we find in regional timber buildings as well as in early industrial buildings. Non-directional column grids leave room for a variety of uses, while a repetitive window rhythm organises the façades. In the residential buildings, strong columns divide the flats into a structure of equal, cell-like, connected rooms – in keeping with the traditional chamber floor plans typical of timber buildings. It goes without saying that the spans are adapted to the performance of the timber. There are hardly any corridors, but there are spacious rooms, whose square shape allows for a wide variety of uses. Thanks to the room height of 2.6 metres, the light reaches deep into the central areas of the flats. Because the doors are arranged in series, attractive enfilades are created, which extend the chamber floor plans into flowing sequences of rooms. They make the living spaces appear larger and emphasise the high status of the flats on offer.
Utilising the extensive spaces of the existing building with small-scale residential use? This approach may seem surprising at first glance. However, the small-scale nature of the new use has the great advantage of being able to integrate a complementary load-bearing structure that meets today's challenges (fire protection, bracing, load transfer). In this way, the ageing, fragile structure is bound together and supported with a new framework. The existing components are stabilised and strengthened in the process. They do not simply become obsolete accessories, but support the structure together with the additional static elements! In this way, the roof truss remains cold and well ventilated, i.e., unencumbered by thermal interventions, and we will continue to experience it in the same magical twilight as today.
