Support
structure.
Our goal: harmony between support structure and architecture. We value being able to already contribute to a construction project during the design phase. In so doing, we unify structural and creative challenges, and support the creative process from the idea to the final design.
We develop the best possible structure and optimal aesthetics together with the architect. We are firmly convinced that a building can only be genuinely good and proper if the support structure and architecture are clearly united. To this end, we like to work out alternatives – until the goal is achieved.
Not only are our support structures in harmony with the building’s architectural language, we also strive for a construction that allows for a variety of uses, remains functional over several generations and therefore also meets ecological requirements.
Dreispitz North
The transformation of the former duty-free depot Dreispitz in a mixed-use urban quarter is one of Basel’s largest urban developments since the start of the 21st century. The northern part of the site, currently still occupied by a large Migros Cooperative Basel shopping centre with a hardware shop and huge car park, is also to become a lively urban district with an identity of its own, thanks to a diverse mix of uses.
ZPF Ingenieure has been involved in this project since the competition, won in 2017 with Herzog & de Meuron. Analysing the pre-existing support structures, ZPF Ingenieure was able to show evidence of substantial load reserves and thus demonstrate the possibility of installing a parking level, along with a lightweight triple gymnasium or intensive greening, on top of the pre-existing construction, without having to carry out any interventions.