Replacement of river power plant | Boltshauser Architekten AG

The new replacement building is planned in exposed concrete. The striking skylights are filled with steel profiles and glass blocks on both sides facing the riverbank. The two entrance doors to the two turbine rooms are made of steel. The partition wall between the two turbine rooms has windows that allow visual contact between the two rooms. The new replacement building is covered with a simple sheet metal roof, which includes an inspection opening for the new turbine.

The choice of materials - concrete, steel and glass blocks - and the pragmatic expression seek to create a dialog with the former industrial site on the one hand, while on the other hand pointing to the functional use of the new replacement building. The building's expression is based on the history of the identity-forming paper factory in Cham and the practicality of its industrial buildings.

The building has no windows in the façade. The room with the old turbine is open to the public. By deliberately omitting the windows, the visitor's focus is on the historic turbine. The only view of the second room with the new, active turbine is through the windows in the partition wall. The rooms receive daylight through the skylights. The insertion of the glass blocks creates a water-like play of light on the walls of the interior rooms, depending on the incidence of sunlight.

The new replacement building is an attempt to use simple means to elicit an atmospheric mood from the functional building that refers directly to its industrial past and the importance of water in it.

Lead Architects: Fabian Gmür

Photography Credits: Sandro Livio Straube (https://sandroliviostraube.studio/)