An important part of our field of work is the refurbishment, renovation, and upgrading of existing apartment buildings. We firmly believe that almost every residential building is worth preserving and that almost all properties can be upgraded in an interesting and efficient way.
Carefully renovated housing
Refurbishment and renovation Riedmattstrasse in Altwiedikon, Zürich - Bedroom and corridor
Should we vacate the building for refurbishment?
Minor renovations can be carried out while the building is occupied. The exception is often when the service risers and sewage pipes in the building need to be renewed. In the case of a service renovation, the work involved is more extensive, and a floor-by-floor approach is challenging, partly because the pipes usually run behind the kitchens and bathrooms.
If the building remains occupied, the renovations will be carefully planned and before any tenants are forced to leave alternative measures will be considered and evaluated.
Renovation MFH Aarauerstrasse in Brugg/AG – Floor plans (demolition and conversion plans)
Optimising the layouts
If a major intervention is planned, we recommend taking the opportunity to carefully adapt the apartments to today's needs. For example, cooking and dining are much more closely linked today. We respond to this by gently adapting the rooms and their relationship to each other, without undermining the character of the house.
We also show how apartments can be designed more flexibly. For example, a library can later become a second child's room, or two small bathrooms are more inviting for a later retirement home, than one large one.
Renovation Untere Zäune, Zürich – Historical residential building with seven floors
The question of heating
A new heating system can generate additional measures and alterations. If a new heat pump (air-source or ground-source) is being considered, then a full evaluation should be carried out to ensure that the energy consumption and associated costs are optimised. Switching to underfloor heating, if the floors are being replaced anyway, can be a sensible accompanying measure. This can significantly reduce the pump's temperature range.
Utilising potential
Many properties also have utilisation reserves and potential for densification, be it the conversion of an attic space, an extension to expand the apartments or adding a storey. When planning a major intervention, then it is the right time to examine the economic viability of such measures.
In addition to these questions, we also clarify the technical aspects of a conversion, such as the removal of harmful substances such as asbestos, fire protection and earthquake proofing, and we carefully integrate them into our planning.
Structural challenges
Our aim is to further develop existing residential buildings with care and attention to detail so that they remain functional, liveable and preserved for decades to come.
In terms of construction, the limit for upgrading is usually the load-bearing capacity of the floors, as the weight can increase following new soundproofing measures. Improving the sound insulation of the floors will eventually exhaust the load-bearing capacity. This limit generally determines the sensible level of intervention.