Platform

The horizontal counterpart to Prime Tower

The Platform office building for the auditing and consulting firm Ernst & Young, which was put into operation in 2011, is part of the Maag site, which was built on the former industrial site of Zahnräder Maag AG. In addition to Platform, the site development consists of three further buildings: the 126-metre Prime Tower, the new Cubus building and a renovation and conversion of an industrial building called Diagonal. All four projects were realised by architects Gigon/Guyer from Zurich. Platform is a seven-storey office building, which was developed according to the requirements of the investor and user. The building is designed as an urban development prelude to the above Maag area on the tracks. The triangular ground floor plan reflects the overall plot and is also open-angled to the tower and other annexe buildings. Platform is a classical skeleton structure with five bracing cores. The large protrusions are supported by inclined supports, whilst the small protrusions remain so. In order to remain above the groundwater level, the building is supported with piles.

It all depends on the façade

The realisation of the façade was very demanding. There is not a single right angle among the twenty or so corners and bends of the building. In addition, constructive solutions had to be found for the numerous offset and underside views, some with very acute angles. The glazing of the atrium also required great attention and concentration from everyone involved. Since each glass has a different orientation, more than a thousand handrail profiles of differing lengths had to be produced and installed.