Renovation "Alte Trotte, Zürich

The project
The property at Nordstrasse 331 in Zurich-Wipkingen was extensively renovated. High priority was given to the preservation of the existing substance due to the protection of historical monuments. Before the renovation, the building was in poor condition. It had been continuously altered in the past and in part unprofessionally adapted to the user needs. The annex with a trailing roof on the west side is not protected and has been replaced by a new building in wooden element construction. After the renovation, the 3-storey residential building with a loft in the attic will be used by a residential community of up to 14 people. For this purpose, the maximum possible quality of the living conformation, such as spatial qualities, infrastructure, surfaces, indoor climate and sound insulation, which was possible with the existing substance, was set.

The construction
Very little was changed in the construction of the existing building. The load-bearing structure, consisting of infill framing, quarry stone walls and timber framing, was retained. The beam layers and the roof truss structure were retained and have been partially supplemented and upgraded. The single-story extension was built in new wood element construction.

The challenge
The first major challenge was to foresee in the planning phase which building components would still meet the requirements of the use and the architecture after the renovation. During construction, the floor slabs were dismantled down to the primary load-bearing structure and could be recorded and strengthened accordingly. At the same time, the considerable settlements within the ceilings were slightly compensated. For the load transfer of the floor slabs, the existing pincer layer was replaced and supplemented with new beams.