Weisses Schloss, Zürich

8 BRIDGING PAST AND PRESENT Weisses Schloss makes history real and palpable. The impressive architectural vocabulary of the exteriors is echoed in the interior arrangement of the building, with emphatically authentic entrance halls and staircases resplendent with exquisite materials including terrazzo, marble, and natural stone tiling, magnificent stucco plas- ter and paintwork, all illuminated by opulent chandeliers lustrous with opal glass and burnished brass – this is a place where you can step back in time to a long-forgotten, altogether grander era. The 13 residential apartments and 21 commercial units are being renovated and restored to an high standard in the authentic style of the period under the watchful eye of the heritage department, while introducing a number of modern elements. These always reference the historic structure, yet assert their own contem- porary status as legitimate complements at the same time. The architects have essentially envisaged a concept that retains the poetic phraseology of Weisses Schloss in all its originality and reiterates it – thereby creating an unparalleled living and working ambience that delicately balances the past and the present. WE I SS E S SCH LOSS