Renovation/reconstruction residential building Gossau ZH- in realisation

In Gossau ZH, a historic residential building, probably the foundation walls from around 1540, is being renovated and converted. The house already has 3 apartments, these are divided up slightly differently…

Robin Lüscher, architectural draughtsman, 2020-

g +41 822 52 32, rob@martinbruhin.com

Santa Tecla house, Brazil, 2015-

Ten kilometres outside the city of Sao Leopoldo, a new 140 ha neighbourhood is taking shape. We are designing and developing a large hillside home. As with the O.M.A house in Bordeaux, access for cars goes through a courtyard …

Europan 10, ‘lightbubble’, Vardo Norway, 2010

We propose on the ‘strandgata’, in the immediate vicinity of the ‘fryseri’, a boat-like building where the roof is oriented to the sea level and the geometry looks longingly towards the harbour entrance and the open sea. The structure is accessed from the street via a terrain ramp. This path is open permanently to the public, enabling visitors to experience the harbour as an aquarium. …

The second edition in English is just released by Niggli Verlag!

Slow Architecture – Rosa’s architectural work was not ahead of its time; indeed, he adopted modernism, albeit in a radically subjective and sculptural way. The difference lay in the art of construction. The studios certainly had the look of industrial manufacture that suggested modernity, yet Rosa’s working style was manual and reflective and was based on an intense observation of nature…

Renovation/reconstruction brick house Aarau, 2015

Extensive article in the 6/15 issue of the magazine Umbauen+Renovieren.

The small property lives from its lovely front yard with its wrought iron gate and the rich trove of old trees: Weigela, ornamental cherry, beech, maple, pear. Where a garden house once stood, there is now a new gabled pavilion. During the renovation, a ceiling painting more than 100 years old was …

Europan 7, 1st place, Fribourg, 2003

We won the Europan 7 competition for the Fribourg location. Our idea for a large urban park that extends outwards towards the Saane like a topographical ramp …

Martin Bruhin, Architect FH/SIA

Bruhin Spiess, Architektur Recherche Illustration
Haus der Musik, Gönhardweg 32, 5000 Aarau
g +41 62 822 52 32, n +41 79 611 70 29
mab@martinbruhin.com

The power of gestures

Power of imagery – crisis of the object – gestures. How large do spatial gestures/architectural responses have to be? This question is one of my working theses …

Exhibition concept ‘Tageslichtstudio’, Osterwaldstrasse 89, Munich Germany, 2008

The exhibition took place in the daylight studio of Hermann Rosa. Light as an architectural means influenced the design of the exhibition. …

Patio house on the Sedelbach, 2015 – building completion october 2017

“Have You in My Wilderness”- Sketch of the floor plan 1:1 on the property to become familiarised with the place. – We are planning a terrain-based house, with the rooms following the current shape …

Feasibility study Renovation ‘Flarz’ building Pfäffikon ZH, 2016

This residential building belongs to an intact group of ‘Flarz’ buildings, has a tarred vestibule and green space in the back. It is located in the oldest preserved part of the historic centre of this urbanised village …

Guest lecture at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Architecture, 2013

“Wood & concrete, structure & space”, lecturer: Wolfgang Rossbauer. My appeal: don’t think and plan in terms of conventional construction phases and building estimate schemes. First, the environment …

Renovation historical apartment building Buchs, 2016- building application submitted

In around 1772 the house stood between a gravel pit and a paper mill with no surrounding buildings. Today it stands …

Renovation EFH Burgdorf, 2016

The house with the striking Bernese gable is located in a large garden in the Ey quarter. The renovation work focuses primarily on the ground floor…

Preliminary design ‘Renovation of historic restaurant’, 2016/18

A decorative half-timbered construction from 1681, the foundation walls of the vaulted cellar are thought to have been built in the 15th century…

Expertise detached house Oberengstringen, 2016

I made a survey for a property on the “Goldcoast on the way to Baden” which included the structure of the building, the possibility of …

Office re-establishment

As of 1 September 2014, we founded the ‘bruhin spiess, architektur recherche illustration’ firm in the Haus der Musik at Gönhardweg 32 in Aarau, Switzerland.

Architecture and research are my primary focus. The subjects are deliberately painted in broad strokes, because connections and details interest me. I consciously keep my distance from complete construction and focus specifically on renovations, atelier constructions, experimental residential forms, small-scale settlements, city parks, small botanical gardens, bathing houses and teahouses… From architectural research to detail planning and manual implementation, I offer every step in the process. In this context and in active dialogue with the owner of the house, I see the sustainability of building.

The planning team naturally involves craftspeople, as well as specialist planners for larger projects. I recall the Bauhütte and the Studio Mumbai with pleasure. Above all, I am interested in the people and the place, augmenting their needs and offering solutions that combine aesthetics and craftsmanship. That runs from environmental design to the house and furniture to the picture frames.

I hope you enjoy immersing yourself in my stories and interconnections!

Martin Bruhin

The traditional farmhouse, 1995-

It connects naturally and ingeniously with the cultural landscape, not only with the patina of weathering, but also through the adequacy and ability for dialogue. It establishes a spatial relationship and connects with the cultural landscape despite the confident …

Research on Rudolf Kaiser, 2014-

Around 1910, master builder Rudolf Kaiser (Keiser) planned and built many houses in Aarau. In the Zelgli district alone, four houses of this type still exist…

“Nature itself creates the aesthetic spontaneously. This liberated and sensual aspect interests me very much. Nature is the basis of our lives, even if we are quick to forget it.”

Wooden deck Burgdorf, 2016

The new wooden deck extends the mezzanine living space into the garden. On both sides, existing garden paths lead up to the sun …

Renovation/timber rebuild, Wangen

I see furniture as an integral part of the architecture, not as an addition or installation. I like to blur the boundaries between furniture and spatial structure. The furniture becomes a part of the interior landscape and …

Renovation feasibility study Altstadthaus, Sissach, 2015

The feasibility study presents the renovation options to adapt the 150-year-old building to requirements, and improve the interior …

Bildungszentrum competition, Wollerau, 2015

The volumetrics of the new education and community centre adopts the granularity of the adjacent W2 and core zone, and takes its cue from the orientation of Runggelmatt school with the sports area. Within the 40-metre building length and three-storey height, it surrounds the former …

Garden pavilion, Aarau, 2015

Weigela meets garden pavilion. Where a garden house/apiary stood 110 years ago, a garden pavilion is now in place. It seeks the proximity of the weigela and ornamental cherry trees. In form and construction, the design draws on a historicism …

Spaces in literature

“Well, I moved into a new apartment. It’s not yet furnished, half-finished somehow. It’s a simple, white house, ground-level, the rooms flow into each other, without doors. …

Figurative sculpture, today

What significance would the outdoor space in the Barcelona Pavilion have without the figurative sculpture of Georg Kolbe? That is the question of the working thesis ‘Figurative sculpture today’. …

Fusta und Kindergarten competition, Aarau Rohr, 2015

Our submission bears the name ‘Berme’; the typology of the volume takes up the topographic peculiarity. If one regards the building as an artificial embankment, it takes on an elevated intermediating terrace function …

Text submissions for wbw, 2012-2014

“Perfectly normal – Neugrüen development in Mellingen by Dietrich Schwarz Architekten. Welcome to the world of real existing sustainability: in its design for the largest Minergie-A development in Switzerland in Mellingen, Dietrich Schwarz Architekten uses three different building types and small-scale urban exterior spaces. For the investment property, meticulous planning, flawless implementation and simple technologies were the watchwords.”

Current article in wbw 09-2014, Wohnen in der Agglo …

Projects for Husistein & Partner, 2007-2014

These three projects (selection of five implementations, eight plans and 13 competitions) were both thematically and spatially interesting for me:

I worked on the workshop and district engineering office from the building application through to implementation, drafted all execution plans personally and led the general planning team. The project was to be the first Minergie construction …

Seraina Bruhin-Spiess, scientific illustrator

t +41 62 822 52 32, m +41 78 666 19 26
spiess@serainaspiess.com www.serainaspiess.com

Publications

Our winning project Europan 7 in Fribourg was presented and discussed in the special issue of Hochparterre, Bauwelt und Tracés. …

Apartment, Beethovenstrasse, Munich Germany

The central focus was the reconstruction of the apartment. Where did the artist’s sculptures stand in 1981? …

Friends & networks

Intimate collaboration and inspiration for architecture, publication and craftsmanship. …

Construction document design, City of Aarau, 2014/15

The city of Aarau documents its building projects in the form of a periodical. We created the graphic production of the two latest projects in this large series…

25 topics

This A5 brochure presents my favourite 25 images. Augmented with sketches and topics, the brochure documents my philosophy and my perception of space. …

Reconstruction planning, Wallnerstrasse, Munich Germany

Based on interviews, research and dimension measurements, I was able to reconstruct the original state of Hermann Rosa’s two ateliers in drawings. In order to do so, it was very important to assimilate the sculptor’s design thinking and detail logic. …

Price-conscious and aesthetically minded

Inexpensive, fast, beautiful, unique and environmentally sound – that is the innovation-driving formula of the construction industry. This discipline promises to make the impossible possible. I recommend a careful selection of these requirements: What is particularly important to me as the owner, resident and user, and what can be omitted? According to which criteria have I selected the planners/craftsmen?

Skills & specialisations

I am a passionate designer, builder and writer with 14 years of professional experience as an architect and author. …

Hillside garden villa, Adligenswil

In the context of a private competition, I am designing a small, south-facing residential home that nestles into the topography. Between the hillside and the sun deck lies the ‘Höhenweg-Pool’. A small atrium ties together the camping-style, spartan living concept. …

Atelier installation, Aarau

With a raised floor and three walls, we are turning the office into a workshop. This protects the existing floor …

Methodology

My ancestors were Vals settlers – they took responsibility for their chosen environment and cared for it. Settling, in its truest sense, is not about possession and borders, but well being and being at one with nature. So I have thought long and hard about the distinction between perfection and due care. It is very important to me to be able to think about the needs …

Schoolhouse competition, Sennhof, 2004

The property is characterised by a depression and mounds. The space is defined strongly by rows of trees and large individual trees. The embankments along the perimeter provide terrain features and structure the borders of the property beautifully. The proposed volume is intended …