The former Swiss Re office building is situated at the Badenerstrasse in central Zurich. The existing building was completed in the early 80’s and is in desperate need of a remodel in order to house the new KPMG headquarters. To retain its zoning privileges it is stripped down to its bare structure to be rebuilt as clearly visible volumes in its surrounding.

The minimalist design approach emphasizes the vertical double columns and expresses the structures true appearance to the outside. By projecting the geographic world map onto the floorplan, the building is divided into two main areas: “Generic Offices” and “Collaboration Spaces.”

The “Generic Offices”, elevated to the top floors, are clad with rough heavy concrete elements. The use of highly reflective metals on the ground and penthouse floors symbolize lightness and transparency towards the more public “Collaboration Spaces.” A mirrored blade marks the transition between these two zones, occasionally extending out to shield the entrances in an inviting gesture.