The Montagehalle, a building of outstanding historical significance and one of the few remnants of the former Saurer production site in Arbon, is being transformed into a state-run cultural center. Small interventions, unfolding within a limited operational budget, support this ongoing transformation.

Built in two phases, 1910 and 1912, the hall’s riveted and bolted steel-frame structure was designed for potential expansion. On one side of the structure a brick facade, articulated by pilasters and arched windows, reveals a desire for entrepreneurial representation. This architecture embodied the dual needs of an expanding industrial company, flexibility for growing production capacity and architectural representation to project corporate confidence. When Saurer went bankrupt at the end of the 20th century, the entire site fell into disrepair.

Since 2023, targeted measures have been implemented to gradually activate the one hundred-and-fifty-meter-long heritage structure. The first construction phase focused on basic requirements for public use: firewalls, railings, office spaces, an emergency exit that emerged from cooperation with the neighboring scaffolding company creating a tower with lake views through a circular opening that references the brick facade's formal language, and an elevator whose cladding was developed with the textile printer who operates his workshop in the adjacent space. A plastered box for video and bar emerged in cooperation with the first exhibition. Each intervention becomes an architectural element through local collaboration.

This successive approach breaks away from a project logic where everything is planned at once. Instead, the architectural vision emerges from continuous engagement with the building and its context. The architect takes on the role of a caretaker, who assists an ongoing transformation. This allows architecture and institution to evolve together, maintaining coherence while adapting to changing needs and opportunities.

The first exhibition "Der Stoff, aus dem die Gegenwart besteht" as part of Heimspiel 2024/25 addressed questions of material and resources. The industrial architecture was understood not as a neutral backdrop but as active dialogue partner bringing its own history into the discourse.

Ort

Saurer Areal, Arbon

Bauherrschaft

Hochbauamt des Kanton Thurgau

Projekt Ausfuehrung

Architektur:
Chasper Schmidlin, Philipp Frisch

Ingenieure:
dsp Ingenieure

Beleuchtung:
Charles Keller Design

Signaletik:
BIV Grafik

Zusammenarbeit:
TDS Textildruckerei

Bilder:
Pierre Marmy, Alice Speller, Philipp Farra