Umnutzung Römerstrasse is a conversion of four pavilion-like office buildings into housing in Baden, Switzerland. The buildings stand on a wooded slope above the Limmat, between the city centre and the former industrial area associated with Brown, Boveri & Cie, now ABB.1
The project followed a competition won in 2010 by Michael Meier und Marius Hug Architekten AG, the project’s architects and developer of the conversion.1 Construction took place from 2018 to 2023, with completion recorded as February 2023; the project page says residents took possession in 2023.12 The client was SGI Zürich.2
The conversion created 78 owner-occupied apartments. The four buildings have three to five storeys, with one basement level; the project’s gross floor area is 16,541 square metres.1 Rather than replace the pavilion arrangement, the design retained it and added a connected sequence of public ground-floor passageways that links the buildings and their entrances.1 New stair cores and a new structural system were introduced, while the existing building structure was retained as an outer shell.1
The works also included a parking level on the hillside, a new entrance building with balconies, and an additional attic storey along the edge above the Limmat.1 The design combines the retained structure with a lightweight façade and textile awnings; the landscaping responds to the contrast between the city, gardens and river landscape.1 The project was entered in the Swiss Arc Award 2023.1