Kitchen

We propose the creation of a collective kitchen within the Hardturm parking area, a strategic site in western Zurich located close to the city’s main transport and logistics infrastructures. Situated near the A1 highway and major distribution routes, the area functions as a constant passage point for long-distance truck drivers.

The intervention responds to the need to improve the quality of life of truck drivers and to support their food logistics. Many drivers spend extended periods away from home, often facing isolation, limited space, and scarce access to fresh or preserved food. The project addresses these conditions by transforming a purely technical stopping point into a place of care, encounter, and shared use.

By reconfiguring the logic of the existing parking system, a longitudinal space is created that opens in both directions, connecting the Hardturmbrache with a small pocket of trees.

Within this linear space, in the shelter of the Parkhaus Hardturm, the kitchen is organized into five main islands: burner station, sink station, counter station, dining table, and a fire grill. These stations offer essential cooking infrastructure while guaranteeing flexibility and encouraging communal interaction. The elements are constructed using contrasting materials - rough local limestoneand smooth stainless steel.

A crucial feature is the hanging system which runs along the ceiling, providing mobile access to electricity and water. This allows drivers to plug in their own individual appliances, such as rice cookers or air fryers. The water pipes running out of the ceiling function as showers, enabling guests to rinse away cooking residues quickly after use, into a wastewater collecting central drainage system leading to the city's canalization.

The kitchen extends beyond the parcel boundaries by introducing an urban terrace to the Hardturmbrache. This terrace accommodates activities emerging from the site while simultaneously extending the kitchen into the open terrain, blurring the boundary between infrastructure and landscape.

A translucent membrane defines the kitchen space, resting lightly within the vast parking ground. Acting as a flexible, porous boundary, it mediates between the massive presence of trucks and the intimate act of preparing food.

As vehicles arrive, park, and depart, space and atmosphere continually shift: the membrane swells and deflates like a living cell, adapting to ist guests. At night, the kitchen becomes a lantern, projecting a soft interior life into its industrial surroundings. In summer, openings allow air to pass through, transforming the structure into a shaded, collective meeting place.

Autumn 2025

Project by: Joel Mignan, Keriu Jiang, Sergio Beer, Sofia Ortelli

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

Images: Luís Úrculo