History and architecture

Historicism gained popularity in art and architecture from 1850, reviving a variety of styles from the past. That the movement can be innovative as well as merely imitative is spectacularly evident in Weisses Schloss, with all respect due to the architect and developer, Heinrich Honegger-Näf (1843-1907), who had already been involved in the design of the new square in front of the main station as well as the Bahnhofstrasse itself, thereby exerting a significant influence on the layout of the city as it is today.

With the creation of Weisses Schloss he achieved an eclectic architectonic masterpiece consisting of a complex of palatial villas redolent of the ostentatiously ornate Louis XIII style and featuring a markedly structured silhouette that evoked a lively interplay of light and shade on the otherwise white Savonnières limestone of the façade.

Up until 1983 Weisses Schloss consisted solely of residential properties with between five and nine rooms equipped with the latest standards of infrastructure of the time. They were conceived and built for an affluent bourgeoisie that preferred living in the blossoming economic metropolis to the countryside and who were clearly not prepared to skimp on any of the associated status symbols.

1890

Heinrich Honegger-Näf, the architect, devised the first plans for the construction of Weisses Schloss in November of that year. He drew up the project plans and built the four-storey residential complex in the metropolitan style at his own expense. On April 3^rd 1891, the local authority of Enge awarded planning permission for Weisses Schloss.

1920

From 1920 onwards, Weisses Schloss was adapted or converted at regular intervals. Garages were also added in the courtyard area.

1930

The commemorative journal celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), formerly known as the Polytechnikum, contains the following reference to the construction: “[…] The building complex rests on the reclaimed lake-bed and, consequently, required some ambitious engineering in terms of its foundations. 2200 posts were driven into the silt and secured with rails; pebbles were then used as filler, on top of which came a layer of concrete 1.5m in height and between 1.5m and 3m in width. The granite plinth is laid on top of this.”

1983

The extensive 6 to 9 room residences were relinquished and converted into offices. A lift was added. The attic in the erstwhile loft space on the 6^th floor was transformed into an additional apartment.

2021

On expiry of the existing lease agreements, the owner – “Zürich Lebensversicherungs-Gesellschaft [Zurich Insurance]” – begins a comprehensive renovation of the heritage-listed, mixed use residential and commercial building.

2023

Following completion of the restoration work, Weisses Schloss will have 13 rental apartments as well as 21 commercial spaces available for occupancy, all offering a highly exclusive living and working experience.

Renovation

During the course of the ongoing three-year, extremely intensive renovation phase from 2021 to 2023, the architects have taken pains to preserve the original condition of the listed building as far as possible or, failing that, to restore it. The overall use of the residential and commercial building will essentially remain unchanged following the refurbishment, with the exception of a part of the attic on the mansard floor, which will henceforward serve as additional residential space.

The commercial units, which are the best preserved in terms of their historic structure, will be renovated with due care and attention and will retain all existing period features. The more major adaptations to the construction will essentially be carried out in the mansard apartments that were converted in the 1980s without adequate respect for the building’s structure, and the interior proportions are to be restored here. The addition of new kitchens in some areas, as well as wet-rooms, restoration or replacement of the floors, renovation of walls and ceilings, and new, wood-framed windows in the corresponding style will lead Weisses Schloss gently into the modern age without compromising its character.

The renovation of the outer core of the building will be of particular significance: the limestone façade will be deep-cleaned and, where necessary, restored and augmented. So Weisses Schloss’s exteriors will once again do justice to its name.