Raststätte

The chimney of the «Raststätte» towers over the Parkhaus Hardturm. From the very top a light shines towards the Escher Wyss area. Smoke is rising from it. The “Raststätte”. Within the increasingly commercialized city of Zürich spaces to pause, to withdraw, are becoming more scarce. The Parkhaus Hardturm, connected through a pedestrian bridge to the tram stop, was built to encourage public transportation within the city. The parking itself enabled a calmer city. By introducing a public bedroom into the parking this gesture is repeated.

The bedroom is used by truck drivers, commuters and visitors of the city, by ZHdK students and neighbours. It is a place to rest without the expectations of the domestic. 

The «Raststätte» is placed on the 4th floor and stands in relation to the trees growing tall in the north-west and the view of Zurich and the mountains on the other side. At the heart of the project lies the Kachelofen, which introduces a new form of infrastructure, one that brings warmth, usually associated with the domestic, into the public realm. The oven anchors the spatial organization. Around it, rooms of different atmospheres unfold: a communal space, of the dimensions of a sleeping hall with a wind tower over it, and two smaller rooms, one opening up towards the trees, the other in the dark. The warm benches and wall, the framework of the public bed, function through a hypocaust system letting the heated air circulate slowly.

The beds – two-legged wooden panels with a mattress and duvet – are placed by the visitors. The long walls of the communal room can be rotated, creating a direct relation to the smaller fireplace in the outside part, echoing the shape of the Kachelofen. The heavy brick walls of the Kachelofen along with the light-weight rotating walls, the volumetric changing cabins and the original pillar-beam structure of the parking organize the spaces while the visitors create niches to sleep to their liking.

The bedroom is a space of many layers: of rest and work, intimacy and sexual freedom, but also violence, illness, and even death. Ultimately it is where we are at our most vulnerable. To fall asleep next to somebody else is to experience a profound sense of connection. It is something one does not usually want to share with a stranger. The needed flexibility and intricacy to translate the layers is picked up in the floor plan and exploration of material. The detailing as well as the changing in rooms brings a layer of vulnerability to the project. The tiles are hand-made. The marks left by firing remain visible, preserving the imprint of touch and process. The circular lowerings in some of the tiles can be used to hold objects – glasses, rings, small belongings. The sill holds the light, the electronic cables, and can be used as a night table. The increased clay-frame of the tiles at the edge of the bench used as a hook for the beds, creates a border, holding the person lying on the bench. The materiality is robust, yet the porcelain calls for caution and care.

Autumn 2025

Project by: Fiona Bosshard, Karin Sauter, Lara Felchlin, Linn Stählin

Teaching team: Anna Puigjaner, Dafni Retzepi, Ethel Baraona Pohl, Lisa Maillard, Luis Úrculo, Pol Esteve Castelló, He Shen, Valentina Noce

Images: Luís Úrculo