Baumgartner + Partner AG | Architects | Zurich und Brugg

The building was constructed in 1912 by architect Alwin Rüegg for locomotive driver Adolf Siegrist, originally designed as a two-family house with three rooms each. The modest home, built in the Heimatstil tradition, is listed in the cantonal building inventory.

In 1966, the loggia on the south façade was remodelled and incorporated into the living room. The surfaces of the living room were modernised in the spirit of the time: the wall panelling was removed, parquet flooring and the floor of the former loggia were unified under a wall-to-wall carpet, and the walls were painted white.

Our intervention was limited to the ground floor and took a restrained approach. In the living room, the 1966 loggia enclosure remained untouched. However, the old parquet was uncovered, and the walls in the historic part of the house were painted in a deep green. Other rooms were given equally bold colours, inspired by those in the upper floors. In the living room, the original window frames and sills were reinstated, while new skirting and ceiling friezes create a softer connection between old and new.

In the kitchen, a 1990s fitted kitchen was replaced. Green linoleum surfaces blend harmoniously with the pale yellow wall tiles, likely added in the 1940s, and the red clinker flooring. Recessed oak handles reference the preserved built-in cupboards from the house’s original construction.

The area in front of the radiator was closed off, and the work surface significantly enlarged. An open cross-section ensures the convection of air past the radiator.