Wood In Architecture Issue 2, 2021
First published in 2017, Wood in Architecture (WIA) is a bi-annual trade magazine devoted to the international timber construction sector. The newest addition to the Panels & Furniture Group of wood magazines, WIA features in-depth insights to the latest industry news, incredible projects and leading trade events. WIA is an advocate for timber as a material of choice for today’s built environment, and is the perfect source of inspiration for architects, builders, engineers and interior designers across the globe.
First published in 2017, Wood in Architecture (WIA) is a bi-annual trade magazine devoted to the international timber construction sector. The newest addition to the Panels & Furniture Group of wood magazines, WIA features in-depth insights to the latest industry news, incredible projects and leading trade events. WIA is an advocate for timber as a material of choice for today’s built environment, and is the perfect source of inspiration for architects, builders, engineers and interior designers across the globe.
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BIG PICTURE<br />
The shimmering, curved silhouette of the new<br />
Swatch building, designed by Japanese star<br />
architect Shigeru Ban, extends over a total length<br />
of 240m and a width of 35m. At its highest point,<br />
the façade measures 27m. The unusual design<br />
breaks the conventions of classic office building<br />
architecture and blends harmoniously into the urban<br />
environment. The building’s forms awaken the<br />
imagination – like a work of art, the interpretation<br />
lies in the eye of the beholder.<br />
2<br />
The vaulted façade with an area of over 11,000m 2<br />
rises gently towards the entrance and transitions to<br />
the Cité du Temps. Both exterior and interior of the<br />
building are interspersed with a variety of leitmotifs,<br />
with curved shapes, colours and transparency, as<br />
well as with the unusual use of classic materials and<br />
building elements.<br />
1 Swatch headquarters is one of the world’s<br />
largest timber structures (Photo: Swatch)<br />
2 There are 124 wooden Swiss crosses on<br />
the ceiling to improve the acoustics in the<br />
offices (Photo: Swatch)<br />
<strong>In</strong> harmony with nature<br />
PROJECT: Swatch Ltd. headquarters, Biel/CH<br />
CLIENT: Swatch Ltd., Biel/CH<br />
ARCHITECT: Shigeru Ban Architects Europe, Paris/FR<br />
TIMBER CONSTRUCTION: Blumer-Lehmann AG, Gossau/CH<br />
TIMBER CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER: SJB Kempter Fitze, Eschenbach/CH<br />
DIGITAL PLANNING: Design-to-Production GmbH, Zurich/CH<br />
CONSTRUCTION PERIOD: 2014 – 2019<br />
A timber grid shell construction forms the basic<br />
structure of the large-area façade. The traditional<br />
material was chosen for its ecological and sustainable<br />
properties. <strong>Wood</strong> can also be processed flexibly<br />
and cut to extremely precise sizes — important<br />
properties for a construction where every millimetre<br />
is important. During the planning phase, modern 3D<br />
technology helped to define the exact shape and<br />
positioning of the approximately 4,600 beams of the<br />
timber grid shell.<br />
Using a sophisticated plug-in principle, the individual<br />
beams were fitted to each other perfectly. Since<br />
the timber grid shell of the Swatch building serves<br />
as a large office façade, it also had to meet various<br />
technical requirements. A complex network of cables<br />
is discreetly integrated into its structure.<br />
While the wooden structure was still being erected,<br />
the installation of around 2,800 honeycomb timber<br />
WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE • ISSUE 2 – <strong>2021</strong> 17
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