“We got the idea to make the smoke pressure flaps colourful because they were highly visible in the very small lift anterooms as a technical element. We do not generally have anything against showing building technology, but we consider the lift anterooms to be a “vestibule” for the apartments, since they are used to access a maximum of 2-4 residences per floor. Therefore, we wanted to make these spaces as inviting as possible.

When designing the surfaces for the rooms, we wanted to cover the raw panels as a first step. Even the position and shape of the technical equipment, however, gave the impression of a picture. We had the idea to combine technology, art, and architecture relatively quickly, so we asked artist Stefan Steiner to help us give these “vestibules” a unique character.

The custom pictures give residents a feeling of identity and belonging. This also helped us push back against the preconception of high-rise buildings as being anonymous. Generally, you take the lift directly to your apartment in a high-rise building. This means stairwells lose their social function as meeting places. With Percent for Art – placing a custom picture on each floor – we can spark curiosity to see what the pictures on different floors look like, increasing the chance of neighbours meeting one another.”

(Sabrina Maniglio from Galli Rudolf Architects AG ETH BSA)