Chasa RTR

The local Radio e Televisiun Ramantscha (RTR) is the main occupant of this mighty six-storey angled structure, which completes a larger architectural quadrangle at the entrance to Chur's old city centre. What is remarkable is that despite its expressive and incisive form, the building steps back and puts itself and its presentation at the service of the urban space. For the observant viewer the almost banal looking window grid has a few surprises in store. It is made of concrete, poured in one piece and subsequently bush-hammered, which is to say rough-hewn with a hammer and chisel - a process that exposes the concrete's main constituent, in this case Rhine gravel. The monolithic effect of the façade has its significance: instead of a stuck-on 'outer skin' it becomes a massive, five-storey-high, load-bearing structure, resting on only three supports towards the square and street. This static tour de force turns the heftily protruding mass into a light-footed elephant.