Stettbach School

Picture of Words & Photography: Karin Bürki

Words & Photography: Karin Bürki

Stettbach School, Secondary School, Esther + Rudolf Guyer, Zurich, 1964-1967,© Karin Bürki/Heartbrut, Swiss Brutalism. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
Classe Corbusier

The Stettbach secondary school was the first major school project undertaken by Esther and Rudolf Guyer. Inspired by Le Corbusier’s La Tourette Monastery, the Guyers adapted its Brutalist aesthetic for the Schwamendingen district on the outskirts of Zurich.

The school complex, set in a large, manicured park, consists of a main building, a sports hall, an indoor swimming pool and covered walkways. The austere exterior in exposed concrete contrasts with the exposed brick interiors. Eva Pauli’s colourful concrete art interventions in bright orange, blue, green and purple, scattered throughout the complex, break up the ascetic austerity. Much to the relief, we assume, of the students who were coming of age in the late sixties.

Stettbach was the first school building competition won by Esther and Rudolf Guyer. More importantly, it was an opportunity for the young architects to deepen their love for Le Corbusier. The Guyers packed his design for the La Tourette monastery in France in their suitcases and adapted it for the Schwamendingen district on the outskirts of Zurich.
The school complex launched the career of the Guyers, who went on to build schools, churches and infrastructure buildings throughout Switzerland during their brutalist phase. Although the school was still textbook Le Corbusier, the Guyers’ signature style was already present: site-specific solutions, ascetic aesthetics, material restraint – and a fondness for candelabras and futuristic orange. Seven years later, the Guyers went all out with the Zurich School of Applied Arts in the bright orange psychedelia of the 1970s.
Stettbach School, Secondary School, Esther + Rudolf Guyer, Zurich, 1964-1967,© Karin Bürki/Heartbrut, Swiss Brutalism. Explore more on Heartbrut.com

© Karin Bürki/Heartbrut

© Karin Bürki/Heartbrut

Swissmill Tower, Haarder Haas Partner, Zurich, 2013-2016, Swiss Brutalism, © Karin Bürki/Heartbrut. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
PMS Kreuzlingen, Esther + Rudolf Guyer © Karin Bürki/Heartbrut. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
Unteraffoltern II, Georges-Pierre Dubois, Zurich, 1967-1970, Swiss Brutalism, © Karin Bürki/Heartbrut. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
La Tulipe (The Tulip), Centre for Medical Research, Geneva 1975-1976,© Karin Bürki/Heartbrut, Swiss Brutalism. Explore more on Heartbrut.com
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