Saurer WerkZwei, building plot K - Jumbo

Historic industrial building shines in new splendour

The striking, two-storey Arbomec building erected in 1961 and the adjoining factory building from 1952 were merged and converted in such a way that a Jumbo-Markt AG could set up a large goods store there. The architects succeeded in preserving the essential, historically valuable parts of the buildings. Interventions were only made where they were absolutely essential for the new use - on the west façade, for example, where the main entrance to the Jumbo Market is located or on parts of the load-bearing structure of the shed-roofed building. The concrete skeleton structure, with its characteristic shed roofs, was preserved. The north and east façades were partially reconstructed to underline the overall character of the historic building .
The client wished to enhance the existing areas with a plant house. For this purpose, a single-storey new build with a flat roof was erected along the west and south façades. The building blends into the building complex volumetrically, but as it is a steel construction with metal cladding and large windows, it clearly stands out from the existing building.
The goods store spans the ground floors of the former Arbomec building and the factory building. The upper floor of the Arbomec building is used as office space. The 243 parking spaces are arranged in four longitudinal stripes perpendicular to the road.

New limestone façade of demolished building

The greatest architectural challenges proved to be the positions of the columns in the shed-roofed building and the heights of the floors and the windows. The Thurgau-based architect, Rita Schiess of Pfister Schiess Tropeano && Partner Architekten AG and RHG Architects, Solothurn, together with everyone involved, finally succeeded in integrating the Jumbo Market into the historic buildings while retaining the shed-roofed building.
Grooved limestone façade stones from the neighbouring demolished building, a former forge, were reused for partial reconstructions of the north and east façades. With their single glazing, the historical metal windows on the façades no longer met current insulation requirements. For this reason, the metal windows were either reconstructed or refurbished using dry-ice blasting and upgraded with double glazing. The shed roofs now have triple glazing: They provide the Jumbo Market with constant daylight and at the same time reduce energy consumption.