Fohrbach Swimming Pool – Excursion into Building Conservation
One of the key elements of the lecture series Non-Destructive Evaluation & Rehabilitation of Existing Structures (Chair of Structural Mechanics and Monitoring / Prof. Dr. Eleni Chatzi) is the regular construction site excursions for students. These excursions underpin the theories and methods taught for dealing with existing load-bearing structures with useful practical experience. This autumn semester, lecturer Dr Borja Herraiz invited young civil engineers from ETH Zurich to visit our Fohrbach swimming pool construction site. We were delighted by the keen interest shown by the students, who received first-hand information about the project from project manager Roman Salzmann and gained many practical insights into the ongoing construction work. Many thanks to Spleiss for kindly providing the premises for the initial presentation and the subsequent refreshments.
The Fohrbach swimming pool, a favourite among Zollikon residents (and many Zurich residents too), is undergoing extensive renovation and expansion. LÜCHINGER MEYER PARTNER has been involved in this challenging conservation project alongside GFA Gruppe für Architektur and BGS & Partner Architekten since winning the planning selection process in 2021. We were able to clearly convey to the students the particular challenges that the engineers and designers involved faced in dealing with the existing structure, and the strategies and solutions that were applied. In particular, the lack of engineering plans for the existing structure, the various construction periods and renovation phases of the building ensemble, and the aggressive environmental conditions made it necessary to carry out a meticulous inventory in order to enable adequate structural design.
