A tribute to Willi Egli – Refurbishment of the city council Wetzikon

Winning a competition is a pleasing conclusion to a successful office year and, at the same time, points the way ahead to the project tasks of the coming 2021. In a team with Moos Giuliani Herrmann Architekten, the structural engineers from Lüchinger+Meyer were successful in the planning selection process for the refurbishment of the city coucil Wetzikon.
The listed Wetzikon town-house was built in 1980-83 according to the plans of Willi Egli. The architect created a building of high quality in terms of design and function – a building that will age well and is still highly serviceable after almost forty years. Structure, expression and room atmosphere are determined by a meticulous detailing and materialisation. As part of an overall renovation, the administrative departments are to be combined and the usable areas are to be optimized, accompanied by a modernisation of the building envelope and the building services. A key requirement of the renovation concept is to do justice to a high degree to the architectural and monument conservation aspects of the task according to the principle “as much as necessary, as little as possible”.
The jury attests that the Moos Giuliani Herrmann Architekten team has presented the most convincing approach to the task at hand. “The project impresses with its respectful treatment of the existing building structure […]. It shows the appreciation that the project authors have for Willi Egli’s architecture. In this way, they preserve and strengthen the qualities of the town-house and carefully adapt it to today’s ideas of use in an attitude of building on.”

A new emergency staircase makes it possible to retain all the fixtures and fittings. The need for a new, central counter area is taken as an opportunity to create a new town-foyer. By connecting the existing staircase hall and the entrance to the saloon, a “new generosity and a stronger connection between all parts of the building” is achieved. At the same time, the jury praises the “pleasant” architectural restraint of the interventions, which is considered advantageous from a monument preservation and economic point of view.
In accordance with the overall concept, the structural design also aims to preserve the existing structure in its original state as far as possible. In addition to the planning of the new building components and the supervision of the technical interventions, the detailed examination of the earthquake and burning behaviour of the supporting structures is a central task.

We congratulate the entire team on their success and look forward to the start of the project next year.