Zurich, Switzerland

Together with landscape architects Berchtold.Lenzin, pool Architekten has designed the VBZ Bus Garage and Erz Depot for the city of Zurich with great attention to detail in materials and construction.

For its bold design, VBZ Bus Garage and Erz Depot has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

A simple, sculptural building forms the striking western end of the VBZ/ERZ Hardau Facility. 

The load-bearing, in-situ concrete structure forms the shell of the new building and essentially determines its expression. 

The volumetric structure of the neighbouring old building determines the spatial configuration of the new building. 

An additional spatial layer is added to the VBZ parking hall for the ERZ workshop. The ground floor is a versatile maneuvering area, while staff rooms and offices are arranged along a narrow atrium on the bridge-like upper floor. 

The stacking of the dumping station and office wing in a compact figure frees up space to Bullingerstrasse and optimizes traffic routing. 

The salt silo is also integrated into the concrete structure, with its tower-like structure serving as both support and cladding. 

The column-free roof of the bus garage is spanned by simple steel trusses. 

Shear-resistant timber elements form the shed roof surfaces, which are used for the photovoltaic array. 

In the ERZ vehicle hall in the basement, the generously dimensioned column grid with prestressed beams ensures the greatest possible flexibility of use.

Project: VBZ Bus Garage and Erz Depot
Architects: pool Architekten
Landscape Architects: Berchtold.Lenzin Landschaftsarchitekten
General Contractor: Marti AG 
Building Management: Takt Baumanagement AG
Client: City of Zurich
Photographers: Andrea Helbling