Berrel Kräutler Architekten Berrel Kräutler Architekten

Weyermanns­haus Bern

0268

Weyermanns­haus Bern

Weyermanns­haus Bern

The Weyermannshaus Sport and Recrea­tion Facility “Weyerli” is located to the west of Bern, in a district that will be trans­formed into a new urban quarter in the coming decades. Require­ments for outdoor space devoted to leisure and recrea­tion can there­fore be expected to grow signifi­cantly, and the utiliza­tion of the sport and recrea­tion facility to intensify accord­ingly.

Aerial photograph from 1971
Aerial photograph from 1971

Today, the open-air swimming pool, with its outbuildings dating from the 1950s, is among the most impor­tant municipal facil­ities of its kind in Switzerland. Among the architec­tural proper­ties belong­ing to the city of Bern, it is classi­fied as meriting land­marks protec­tion. The outdoor area is vital to the city’s history, and is moreover regarded as worthy of preser­vation by virtue of its existing inventory and status as a land­scaping achieve­ment. In 1971, the “Weyerli” (little pond) was expanded to become today’s Weyermannshaus Sport and Recrea­tion Facility, with an indoor pool and an open-air artificial ice rink.

Site plan of the entire complex with the new building in the upper left corner
Site plan of the entire complex with the new building in the upper left corner

The para­mount objective of the architects is to preserve as much unbuilt sur­face area and vege­ta­tion as possible, thereby provid­ing maxi­mal shadowed areas and moisture. This aim will be ful­filled through a com­pact volume with a mini­mal foot­print that occu­pies only the outer­most corner of the parcel, and whose roof will more­over be land­scaped.

Model photo
Model photo

The required spaces will be assembled so as to occupy as little sur­face area as possible, allowing the various utiliza­tions to benefit from short distances. The diver­gent heights of the individ­ual halls result in a build­ing that is composed of multiple pavilion-style elements, thereby subdividing the enormous volume play­fully. This results in a flatten­ing effect from the street toward the open-air swimming pool, with the build­ing seeming to merge with the park

View from the south
View from the south
View from the main entrance onto the Weyerli
View from the main entrance onto the Weyerli

Thanks to numerous entry points and pathways within the park, access to the building is possible from all compass direc­tions. As a conse­quence of this centrality, and for the sake of the marvel­lous view, the roofed main entrance is oriented toward the middle of the park. The corner of the building is occupied by the ticket office, which allows the simulta­neous servicing of the outdoor area and entrance hall.

Ground floor plan
Ground floor plan
Entrance hall
Entrance hall

For visitors entering the building, the conspic­uously tall entrance hall offers views into various user areas. Through a glass front, there are views down into the ice rink, while the space opens up above towards the indoor pool.

First floor with the swimming pools
First floor with the swimming pools
Indoor swimming pool with view of the hilly landscape and open air pool
Indoor swimming pool with view of the hilly landscape and open air pool
Basement level with the two ice rinks
Basement level with the two ice rinks

0268 Renovation Weyermannshaus Sport and Recreational Facility, Bern

Reference numbers
Competition: 2019, 1st place
Planned completion: 2029
Floor area: 12’500 m2

Team BK
Client: Hochbau Stadt Bern
Construction management: Tekhne SA

Landscape architect: Bryum
Construction engineer: Dr. Neven Kostic
Building services: Gruenberg + Partner
Electrical engineer + building automation: HKG Engineering
Ice rink technology: LePlan
Water technology: Beck Schwimmbadbau
Building physics + fire safety: Pirmin Jung Schweiz
Facade engineering: Emmer Pfenniger Partner 
Light design: LLAL
Pool specialist: Köpfli Urs
Material specialist: SCE
Geotechnics / soil monitoring: Geotest
Door planning: Safe Solution
Utility lines coordination: IPG Ingenieur- und Planungsbüro Gränicher

Visualisation: maaars

Project team BK
Project: Silvia Ackermann, Vander Lemes, Beatriz Morales de Setién, David Calvo
Competition: Beatriz Morales de Setién, Povilas Sileikis, Pablo Machín Prats, Lukas Burkhard, Tilmann Weissinger