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.