Koch Park (coal storage hall), Zurich
The Koch site, originally a suburban industrial area and later a squatted space that provided the city with an interdisciplinary cultural meeting place, is now smoothly integrated into the urban grid. Today, it is developing into a mixed-use neighborhood that combines both residential and commercial functions. At the center of the site is a neighborhood park with the 118-meter-long roof of the former coal storage hall, which has been transformed into a weather-protected park area and is bathed in light by glass tile circles. The roof is supported by a historic, ingenious wooden structure and a new, elegant space frame made of black steel on just four supports. At dusk, the warm artificial light of the new lighting system with its homogeneous general lighting invites visitors to explore the area, while at the same time highlighting the historic wooden structure of the roof. This is achieved by means of two rows of luminaires, one high up in the roof and one further down, which are connected to each other by a reinforced cable. The luminaires each consist of two tubular fixtures, which are connected with a customized mounting and attached to the wooden structure of the roof via steel cables. With the right light characteristics, light emission is avoided and, with appropriate time-dependent control, the light intensity is further reduced in order to minimize the impact on the environment and the surroundings.