Facade reuse in words and pictures
Following success in the competition, project planning and research work, implementation, presentations and the award ceremony, our façade renovation project at Herostrasse 5 is now also being featured in the trade press. The latest issue of FASSADE | FAÇADE 01.2026 from SZFF contains a detailed project report. Under the title ‘Re-use and re-manufacturing through innovation’, our authors Reto Bieri and Matthias Kunze provide comprehensive insight into the project development, from the design and research-based development of the renovation concept to its implementation. The re-use process and the close cooperation with planning, industry and research partners are described in detail.
The façade renovation at Herostasse 5 illustrates the potential that lies in the qualified further construction of existing buildings. Through the on-use of existing elements, a structured reuse process and a significant improvement in energy and sound insulation, the appearance of the building could be preserved.
The focus was on an innovative process in the style of applied research, in which the façade engineers at LÜCHINGER MEYER PARTNER developed a pioneering method. In the process, existing 50-year-old balustrade glass was technically evaluated, reconditioned in an industrial remanufacturing process and connected to a new supporting structure using laminar silicone bonding. This solution, used for the first time in an existing building, serves as a model and shows that reuse is possible not only in terms of design, but also in terms of safety and building physics at a high level. The renovation thus provides a technically convincing example of sustainable façade refurbishment in urban buildings from the 1970s.
