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LITERATURE
WWW.FOSTERANDPARTNERS
.COM
THE PLAN; NEW FORMS;
PLANS AND DETAILS FOR
CONTEMPORARY
ARCHITECTS; 2009.
S.H. REUMERS
T.P.M. van DARTEL
0722337.
0720444.
CHESA FUTURA.
ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND.
FOSTER + PARTNERS.
REAR SIDE, BALCONIES.
CHOSEN DETAIL
Although small, the site of the
Chesa Futura apartment building
is located on the edge of a slope,
looking down across the village
of St Moritz and towards the lake.
Fusing state-of-the-art computer
design tools with centuries-old
construction techniques,
Fig. 2.01: The raw
ends of the
underlying beams. it is an environmentally sensitive
building that is seamlessly
inserted into the spectacular
landscape.
Although
this
appearance fits so nicely to the
city, there is found a prejudice in
the beauty of the building. What
happens: You get a beautiful
building with a dislike detail.
All the details of the building are
so precise and tight, no seam in
sight, no lopsided finish, the
volume is almost literally one with
its surrounding, just so perfect.
Accept that one little mistake. At
the rear side, which offers views
over the lake, balconies are
located. These balconies are
equipped with fall protection
made of glass, standing on a
wooden platform.
If we take a look underneath the
wooden platform we reach the
point where it all goes wrong. It is
possible to take a look under this
platform. You look at the raw
ends of the underlying beams.
This is something what should
never have happened, in a
perfectly detailed building like
this. It's just a prejudice to the
beauty of Chesa Futura. In
almost all other buildings in the
world such detail would not have
been disruptive, but in our view
this is the perfect failed detail on
a building like this.
Fig. 2.02: View from the balconies. Fig. 2.03: Sketches of the balconies, made by the
architect. As you can see, everything is perfectly
detailed, also the balcony.
INFORMATION ABOUT
THE BUIDLING
The Chesa Futura apartment
building in the Engadin Valley
fuses state-of-the-art computer
design tools with centuries-old
construction techniques to create
an environmentally sensitive
building. The whole building is
framed and clad in timber. This is
one of the oldest and most
sustainable building materials.
Although this is an old material
theyʼve created a novel form. In
Switzerland, building in timber is
particularly appropriate in that it
follows indigenous architectural
traditions.
If we look to the structure of the
building you can see that the
building consists of three stories
of
apartments
and
an
underground two level car
parking, plant and storage.
Although small, the site is
spectacularly located on the
edge of a slope, looking down
over the village of St Moritz
towards the lake. The buildings
bubble-like form create space for
windows and balconies on the
southern side to open up the
sunlight and panoramic views.
This responding complete with
Fig. 2.04: Chesa Futura and his spectacular landscape.
the location and the local
weather patterns. The north
façade is more closed because
this is the colder façade. This
façade is punctuated with deep
window openings in the Engadin
tradition.
If you take an overall view of
Chesa Futura (literally, house of
the future) you can say that it
might be regarded as a mini
manifesto for architecture, not
just here but in other parts of the
world. Contrary to the pattern of
sprawl that disfigures the edges
of
so
many
expanding
communities, it shows how new
buildings can be inserted into the
existing grain at increased
densities,
while
sustaining
indigenous building techniques
and preserving the natural
environment. Fig. 2.05: Façades.
Fig. 2.06: Sections. MATERIAL/
CONSTRUCTION:
The form of the building has
been refined using a specially
written computer program that
had fused the buildingʼs plan and
section to create a threedimensional volume. The digital
information can also be directly
exported to cutting tools to build
physical models and ultimately to
the machines that will make the
timber building components.
Fig 2.07: Shingles,
which determined the
façade. In Switzerland, there are certain
numbers of reasons why building
timber makes environmental
sense.
It
reflects
local
architectural traditions, and it
contributes to the established
ecology of felling older trees to
facilitate forest regeneration. The
frame is constructed from gluelaminated timber beams, which
consisting of thin sections of
wood glued together, placed in
pre-assembled panels of 20 – 23
Ft (6 – 7m) in length. A steel
undercarriage will support the
timber frame.
The larch shingles will respond
naturally to exposure to the
elements, changing color slowly
over time to a silver-grey, and will
last for a hundred years without
the need for maintenance.
Timber is also a renewable
resource, the trees absorb
carbon dioxide as they grow,
felling older trees reinforces the
foresting practice of harvesting to
encourage regeneration; and by
using locally cut timber, less
energy is consumed in its
transportation.
A family that has practiced the
craft for generations cuts the
shingles by hand. The shingles
were cut from trees at the same
altitude, as the construction site
during the winter when the wood
is dry, contains no sap and so
will not shrink. The roof is made
out of copper, a traditional local
material sufficiently malleable to
be formed on site when
temperatures drop well below
freezing.
Windows are wrapped around
the façade; the curved form
provides panoramic views of the
lake and surrounding mountains.
On the south the building has
balconies, which benefit from
sunlight. The rear façade is
closed, facing the mountains and
the coldest weather, providing
insulation through its thermal
mass.
Fig 2.08 en 2.09: LIGNAMATIC in action. Beams for the construction.