Project entry 2020 for Europe
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Global Holcim Awards Gold and Holcim Awards Gold Europe
Winner presentation to Extending the Cycle - Upgrade using circular material flows, Winterthur, Switzerland (l-r): Jeannette Kuo, Head of the Holcim Awards jury for Europe 2020; Clemens Wögerbauer, Commercial Director of Holcim Switzerland; Eric Honegger, Barbara Buser, Benjamin Poignon, Pascal Hentschel, Kerstin Müller, baubüro in situ, Basel and Zurich, Switzerland; and Hashim Sarkis, Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021
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Global Holcim Awards Gold and Holcim Awards Gold Europe
Celebrating the announcement of the competition's top prize to Extending the Cycle in Switzerland (l-r): Jeannette Kuo, Head of the Holcim Awards jury for Europe 2020, Clemens Wögerbauer, Commercial Director of Holcim Switzerland, Eric Honegger, Barbara Buser, Benjamin Poignon, Pascal Hentschel, Kerstin Müller, baubüro in situ, Basel and Zurich, Switzerland; and Hashim Sarkis, Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021.
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Global Holcim Awards Gold and Holcim Awards Gold Europe
Winner presentation to Extending the Cycle - Upgrade using circular material flows, Winterthur, Switzerland (l-r): Maria Atkinson, Chairperson of the Holcim Foundation (at podium); Dirk E Hebel, Member of the Academic Committee of the Holcim Foundation, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Germany; Eric Honegger, Kerstin Müller, Barbara Buser, and Pascal Hentschel, baubüro in situ; Jeannette Kuo, Head of the Holcim Awards jury for Europe 2020; and Benjamin Poignon, baubüro in situ.
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Global Holcim Awards Gold and Holcim Awards Gold Europe
Barbara Buser (left), baubüro in situ, Basel and Zurich, Switzerland receives the Global Holcim Awards Gold trophy as a member of the winning team for Extending the Cycle in Switzerland from Hashim Sarkis, Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021
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Global Holcim Awards Gold and Holcim Awards Gold Europe
Barbara Buser (right), baubüro in situ, Basel and Zurich, Switzerland receives the Holcim Awards Gold for Europe from Dirk E Hebel, Member of the Academic Committee of the Holcim Foundation, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Germany
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Global Holcim Awards Gold and Holcim Awards Gold Europe
Barbara Buser (center), baubüro in situ, Basel and Zurich, Switzerland is congratulated by Clemens Wögerbauer, Commercial Director of Holcim Switzerland for winning the Global Holcim Awards Gold as team member Benjamin Poignon looks on.
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Extending the Cycle in Switzerland
The solutions to reduce construction waste are specific to the country’s construction industry. Once people decide to take action, the solutions depend on the economical set up of the country and the local availability of materials, labor force, production lines, etc.
Last updated: November 13, 2021 Winterthur, Switzerland
Keep existing buildings and maximize the reuse of building components and materials
To address the increasing scarcity of raw materials, the large amounts of construction waste, the growing world population, and their rising demand for comfort, we face a major restructuring of the building sector.
Our project is an example that shows how the goal of a significant reduction in energy consumption and conservation of resources can be achieved: Repurposing the existing building stock rather than replacing it, is the most essential step. In our case we transformed an industrial building to an atelier building; Adding three additional stories densifies the urban environment rather than increasing land use; Reusing existing building materials saves resources and embodied carbon. This is our statement: we upcycle buildings.
Combine with materials that have a low environmental impact and build for disassembly
The new material we add consists, wherever possible, of natural building materials such as wood (structural), straw (exterior wall insulation) and clay (interior plaster). The three additional stories require a reinforcement of the building structure, this is done by using concrete with recycled content.
Working with reused material teaches you and gives you an incentive to create buildings that are built for disassembly. Only certain construction methods allow for a reuse of its components. Building for disassembly allows us to reuse materials in a future cycle. Both are elements of a circular economy.
Make sure your building runs on renewables and make your own power
K118 has a very efficient building envelope. The little energy it requires, comes from district heating. This is already installed in the building and the city of Winterthur constantly improves its energy mix (municipal waste combustor and food fired power station). The roof of the building is covered with PV modules that generate power, which is used within the building and fed into the grid.
The building is located close to the train station. This fact combined with a mobility concept results in minimal individual car use from the users. A sustainable building should have a small footprint, in construction and operation. It also matters, how you get to and from it.