The project is sandwiched between Prielmayerstrasse and Schützenstrasse, two heavily trafficked streets – one carrying mostly vehicles and the other mostly pedestrians, respectively – that form the short route between the city’s main station and the historic city centre. It also sits above a pedestrian tunnel that connects the various public transit options in the area; yet despite this abundance of opportunity, the existing building fails to effectively welcome visitors from any of these three thoroughfares. In its place, the brief requested a building that would retain retail at ground level and introduce it to the tunnel level below, while introducing seven floors of offices above.

Three courtyards bring light into the building, not only to the office levels, but also to the shopping area on ground level. Combined with the many entrances and passageways, this turns the shopping levels into a true part of the urban fabric – no longer enclosed and controlled, but connected to the outdoors, with its qualities changing according to the weather. The building’s exterior mineral “shell” is contrasted by a softer interior façade, with the slightly tapered courtyards filled with plants and finished in wood. Three voids connect the ground level to the basement level, bringing light, atmospheric conditions and greenery to the underground shopping experience.