Migros Shopping Centre

This project was the winning proposal of a competition to substitute a service wing of the Schweizerhof Hotel, a 19th century building, for the new headquarters of Migros department stores. It reconciles the architectural and urban demands with those imposed by the commercial needs. The site is located in the meeting point between the fabric of the historic centre and the larger one of the lake promenade. The shopping centre is a free-standing volume which performs as a profane counterpoint to the neighbouring church of St. Matthew. The construction adopts a symmetrical and stepped silhouette towards the sides. The façade is made of light copper wash panels, whose width determines the basic module; despite being randomly distributed, the glazed panels are hardly noticeable thanks to a fixation system that is furred onto the metallic panels. The greenish tone acquired by the copper helps to blend the building with its urban context: the tree-lined promenade along the lakeside.