Our contribution to the open competition for the construction of a new day-care and kindergarten building in Männedorf was awarded 4th place. We are delighted that our project has been awarded and would like to congratulate Roider Giovanoli Architects on their winning project.

project

We have started planning the renovation of a two-family house on Viktoriastrasse in Zurich-Oerlikon. The two-storey building with two 4-room flats, attic and basement is the last remnant of a housing estate built in 1919. In March 2023, we completed the assessment of the condition of the residential building. The aim is to carry out an overall design-to-cost refurbishment with a minimum depth of intervention.

For its new image film, the City of Zug used the recycling center as one of the film sets.

film
project

On Wednesday, 25 October 2023 at 7:00 p.m., Michael Wagner was a discussion guest at the panel discussion 'What have we actually built there?' at Architekturforum Zürich.

Zurich and its agglomeration have experienced an uninterrupted building boom over the last twenty years. Virtually all brownfield sites and former factory areas have been gradually built over and developed into residential and workplace areas. Due to the turnaround in interest rates and other factors, construction activity is cooling off somewhat. So we can pause for a moment and reflect on what was actually built there. At the same time, the era of large contiguous site developments is coming to an end. What was the spirit that shaped this type of development? Which visions and promises came true? Where is there a difference to today's everyday settlement life on site? And what has changed in planning paradigms and ideas of "good urban planning" since then? An evening of critical retrospection and a look into the future.

Panellists:
Regula Iseli, architect, co-director of the Urban Landscape Institute at the ZHAW
Michael Wagner, architect, professor of architecture and urban design at the University of Liechtenstein
Katharina Barandun, settlement coach
Philipp Fischer, architect, Enzmann Fischer Partner
Moderation: Caspar Schärer and Lena Wolfart, Board Architekturforum Zürich

Architekturforum Zürich
News University of Liechtenstein

On Tuesday, 18 April 2023, Michael Wagner will be a panelist, together with Dominik Siegrist and Stephanie Weiss, at the closing event of the ‹Sufficiency - towards a frugal future?› series organised by the Zürcher Studiengesellschaft für Bau- und Verkehrsfragen. The event will take place at 5:30 pm at the Architekturforum Zürich.

Programme ZBV

Michael Wagner is the guest in the first episode of Metron's new podcast. He talks with traffic planners Andreas Oldenburg and Robert Klemm about the difficulties of complex, often long-term planning, in the course of which circumstances and values change. A conversation about how we deal with this dilemma in our everyday work - and how we might be able to solve it.

Listen to the podcast

Congratulations! We are proud and honored to have accompanied Lichtensteig since 2018 in planning and urban design. (Bild: Christian Beutler / Keystone / Schweizer Heimatschutz)

Article SRF
Wakker Prize 2023
Vision and Strategy 2050

As of January 1, 2023, Michael Wagner will be professor of architecture and urban planning at the Liechtenstein School of Architecture. "Michael Wagner prevailed in a competitive appointment process against strong international applicants. He convinced the appointment committee above all with his forward-looking, sustainability-oriented research experience, practice-oriented teaching approaches, enthusiastic demeanour, and proven high level of competence in teaching." In parallel, Michael Wagner will continue to be actively involved at Wagner Vanzella Architects [Photo: Anita Affentranger].

Media release by the University of Liechtenstein

Michael Wagner wrote the introductory article 'Designing the Future' for metron AG's magazine on 'Gegenwartsentwurf für das Gemeinschaftsprojekt Strassenraum'. In the article, he raises the key question of how the future is planned and what challenges this poses for planners and designers.

Read the article [PDF]
Overview of the publication

On Saturday, 10 December 2022, the opening ceremony of the recycling center at Industriestrasse 80/82 in Zug will take place from 10 am to 3 pm. Central Switzerland television Tele1 has already been on site.

video
article
project

For the launch of its annual programme 'Natur bestimmt' (Nature rules) on Thursday, 10 November 2022, the Forum Architektur Winterthur has invited three speakers to talk about 'Space, Energy and Resources'. In his lecture 'How to build on?', Michael Wagner addressed the challenges for urban design and planning resulting from population growth, inward development and the net-zero target [Photo: Andreas Mader].

Annual Programme 2022/2023 Forum Architecture Winterthur

We are pleased to have won the City of Zurich's planner selection procedure for an architecture / construction management framework contract 2022 - 2026 together with two other offices and look forward to a good collaboration [Image: Building History Archive of the City of Zurich, 1987].

Announcement by the City of Zurich

We are pleased to announce that the third paper of the research project ‹Urban densification and its impact on the energy use of Swiss cities›, which Wagner Vanzella worked on together with Empa and KCAP for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, has now been published by the renowned Elsevier journal ‹Energy and Buildings›!

read paper

The SFOE has published an article on our research project: "For a long time, new housing was mainly built on greenfield land. Today things are different, because additional living space can also be created by densifying existing neighbourhoods. A study by Empa in collaboration with KCAP and Wagner Vanzella has investigated how great the potential for densified building is and how it can be implemented sustainably."

read article [de/fr]

The city of Baden is revising its building and land use regulations (BNO) and has invited experts to give their views and opinions on various topics. The feedback is to be incorporated into the revision. Michael Wagner was one of these experts on the topic of 'grey energy'.

Further information on the overall revision of the BNO of the city of Baden

The Office for Urban Planning of the City of Zurich organised a workshop for its employees on the compatibility of growth, inner development and net zero. Michael Wagner was invited to give an input lecture on the topic of ‹Weiterbauen an der Stadt›.

The structural work for the residential development on Klosterstrasse in Klettgau-Griessen has been completed. We celebrated this together with the craftsmen involved on a beautiful summer evening on the new veranda.

project

Wagner Vanzella have started with the planning for the renovation of a residential and commercial building on Limmattalstrasse in Zurich-Höngg. In February, our contribution to the City of Zurich's planner selection process was awarded 1st place. We are looking forward to this collaboration.

Wagner Vanzella together with Laboratorium KLA is one of 11 teams selected to take part in the urban and landscape planning competition for the conversion of the extensive site of the former textile company Lauffenmühle in Lauchringen. An ecological residential quarter with retail and commercial areas, offices and co-working spaces, areas for art and culture as well as gastronomic facilities are to be created on the site.

We are looking for motivated interns to work on competitions and construction projects from around June to September 2022. Requirements: at least 4 semesters of study experience, good knowledge of Vectorworks, Photoshop and InDesign. Application with portfolio by email to: mail@wagnervanzella.ch [Photo: our office entrance at Schanzengraben]

We are one of 10 teams selected to participate in the selective competition for the new recycling center of the city of Zurich. The new building is to be implemented as a pilot project for the reuse of building components and with the use of BIM methodology. We are looking forward to working together with Sumami, Drees & Sommer, Amstein + Walthert, Aschwanden Partner and Sima Breer Landschaftsarchitektur!

An article about our research project was published in the online magazine espazium.ch [photo: Dominique Meienberg].

Link to article

Last week we celebrated the topping out of the recycling center in Zug. The handover of the head building to the Brockenhaus of the Women's Centre and to GGZ@Work of the Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft Zug should take place in August. Then the furnishing work will be done. The Ökihof is scheduled to open in December.

article in Luzerner Zeitung
project

This week the spring semester has started at the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich. Michael Wagner teaches the lecture series 'Urban Design' for Bachelor students, and he's pleased to welcome so many students in the lecture hall again instead of on-screen.

to the lecture series

The kickoff event for the Bachelor's program in architecture took place today at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Michael Wagner will teach the seminar 'Exploring the Abyss' together with Prof. Angelika Juppien in the spring semester of 2022. The students will deal with urban spaces that are perceived as toxic and examine their perceived characteristics using dioramas they have built themselves.

[Image: Mexicalichina, by Tracey Snelling, 2011]

Our contribution to the planner selection process of the City of Zurich for the refurbishment of a residential and commercial building on Limmattalstrasse in Zurich-Höngg was awarded 1st place! Excerpt from the jury report: "The team shows a very good understanding of the central issues of the task: The proposal systematically prioritises low-cost interventions as a design driver and improves the cramped spaces. The project idea has a big impact with small interventions and cleverly uses the potential of the existing building by sharpening previously unused qualities. (...) The panel congratulates Wagner Vanzella for their careful and innovative contribution ..." We look forward to working on this project together!

read the report

Our contribution to the competition for the extension of the Muoshof school complex in Malters was awarded 3rd place. We congratulate the team of Bürgi Burkhard von Euw Architekten on their first place.

go to the project

Based on its Vision and Strategy 2050 for spatial development and with our support, the Municipality of Lichtensteig has launched the Building Renewal Programme. This programme supports owners to improve the quality of construction, increase the value of properties and achieve ecological improvements.

go to website

Today Michael Wagner gave an introductory lecture and a workshop on photography of urban landscapes for the students of the BA Visual Communication - Camera Arts at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Emmenbrücke.

go to the website of the study programme

Over a period of two years, we have been working with the Urban Energy Systems Lab of EMPA and KCAP Zurich on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) to investigate the effects of urban densification of areas and neighbourhoods on overall energy demand. The results of our research project 'Urban densification and its impact on the energy consumption of Swiss cities' are intended to provide support for spatial and urban planning decision-making processes in Switzerland.

read the final report

The Vision and Strategy 2050 for the spatial development of the town of Lichtensteig in Toggenburg was adopted and published by the town council.

read the booklet [pdf, 9.8mb]
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go to website

The first peer-reviewed publication from our research project 'Urban densification and its impact on the energy consumption of Swiss cities' (StaVerdi) is now available online. Since 2019, we have been investigating the urban densification of urban estates and neighbourhoods and their impact on the overall energy demand together with the Urban Energy Systems Lab of EMPA and KCAP Zurich. The research project 'Urban densification and its impact on the energy use in Swiss cities' is funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The project results are intended to support spatial and urban planning decision-making processes in Switzerland.

go to paper

The first apartments at Klosterstrasse 9 have been sold, and construction work began with the groundbreaking at the beginning of May. All flats and terraced houses will be ready for occupancy in summer 2023 (Photo: Sandra Bockstaller).

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Together with the research and consulting company econcept, we developed an effective, communal sustainability concept for the city of Lichtensteig. The town has set itself three goals: social participation, local production, and resilient ecosystems. These are taken into account at the municipal level in investments, construction projects, procurement, mobility, and energy. In addition, the city of Lichtensteig provides its residents and entrepreneurs with checklists that enable a quick and easy assessment of a project, a plan, or a budget decision.

Further information and downloads

Michael Wagner gave a lecture on 'Cultural Landscape and Settlement Development in Switzerland' for the students of the MAS Applied History at the University of Zurich on 12 March.

MAS Applied History, Universität Zurich

On September 27, 2020, the voters of Zug approved the project loan to construct a new recycling center in the Göbli area by over 88 percent. Construction work has now begun: The City of Zug as the developer and the future users - the Brockenhaus of the Frauenzentrale and the Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft Zug - jointly celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building on March 9, 2021. The new recycling center will be ready for use in autumn 2022 [image: Stefan Kaiser, Zug].

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Michael Wagner will give a lecture for the students of the module Territorial Transformation at the Vienna University of Technology on 17 March about the upgrading of living conditions through urban developments in sparsely populated regions of Switzerland.

Jil completed her architecture studies with a diploma at ETH Zurich in the studio of Prof. Anne Lacaton. She studied one semester at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and completed internships in Zurich with Planwerkstadt and Haerle Hubacher Architekten. After graduating, she worked for Hauser Meier Architects. Welcome to our team.

view profile

Today, in the bright sunshine, we were led through the EPI site in Zürich's Lengg district. Together with Ganz Landschaftsarchitekten, we are one of three teams commissioned to develop a testing design concept for the entire area. We are looking forward to this task!

The Swiss association of non-profit housing developers asked Michael Wagner to write an opinion piece on building replacements for the November issue of their magazine WOHNEN.

read the article [PDF]
Magazine WOHNEN

In the coming weeks, the sale of apartments and terraced houses at Klosterstrasse 9 in Griessen will start. Check out some of the visualisations created for this purpose on our website. We are looking forward to continuing work on the construction project.

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Michael Wagner, together with Miriam Jack (architecture) and Raphael Gloor (landscape), was a member of the jury for the selective project competition on the replacement of a residential building at Mühlehaldenstrasse in Dietikon (ZH) on behalf of the Dietikon Protestant Church.

Michael Wagner gave a one-day workshop on 'Regenerative Landscapes' as an external lecturer at the Institute of Architecture and Spatial Development at the University of Liechtenstein for the students of Vera Kaps' and Urs Egg's Advanced Studio Landscape. Many thanks for the invitation!

It is with great pleasure that we have already received the building permit for the recycling center in Zug and we look forward to continuing our work with the planning team.

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This week, Michael Wagner was a guest critic in the master studio of Thomas Hildebrand (hildebrand.ch) and Peter Jenni (jenniarchitektur.ch) at the ZHAW Urban Landscape Institute. It was an inspiring day with the students and the other invited guest critics Oliver Strässle (Stadtraum und Architektur, Amt für Städtebau Winterthur), Regula Iseli (architect, lecturer and head of the Institute Urban Landscape ZHAW) and Ruedi Häfliger (traffic engineer, lecturer at the Institute Urban Landscape ZHAW). Many thanks for the invitation.

With a high voter turnout and a share of almost 90 percent in favour, the people of Zug clearly expressed their support for our new recycling centre. We are looking forward to the work ahead!

Read article on zentralplus.ch

Read article in the Luzerner Zeitung

Yesterday the first public workshop on the future spatial development strategy of Lichtensteig took place. We are pleased that our ideas from the past few months were received so positively. [Image: Martin Knoepfel, Tagblatt 20.08.2020]

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Read article in Tagblatt

Today we signed and submitted the plans for the building application of the recycling center in Zug.

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Team excursion to visit the almost completed construction site of the Rudolf Steiner School in Winterthur. Many thanks to Laura and Meret for your great effort and dedication during all of the planning!

For the site of the former Uznaberg spinning mill in Uznach (SG), a feasibility study was prepared by the Zurich office of sa-partners in the course of a three-stage workshop procedure. The landowner, together with a representative of the municipality and the experts involved, developed a vision for the future and principles for the development of the site in line with the overall objectives of the municipality of Uznach. Michael Wagner was a member of the evaluating panel together with Pierre Feddersen (spatial planning), Guido Hager (landscape) and Simon Seger (transport).

Construction work on the buildings of the Rudolf Steiner School in Winterthur is nearing completion. We are looking forward to handing over the rooms to the students and teachers again in summer.

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Today, the Grand Municipal Council of the City of Zug approved the project loan for the new construction of the recycling center by 29 to 5 votes. The joint venture between Ökihof, Brockenhaus and GGZ@Work, a social enterprise of the Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft Zug, is intended to create a future-oriented recycling department store, where people can dispose of, repair, exchange and shop. The "multifunctional center for ecological and social sustainability" was particularly praised for its urban integration and the use of wood as a building material for the workshop.
We are pleased to be able to submit the application for the building permit this summer. The people will have the ultimate say: The public vote, originally planned for 17 May, will probably take place in September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the population supports the project, construction will start next year to make the new recycling centre available to all inhabitants of Zug from autumn/winter 2022.

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Since the end of March, Michael Wagner has been giving the urban planning lecture at ETH Zurich in front of empty seats. As all ETH buildings are closed due to the COVID-10 pandemic, only the basic lectures may be recorded there. All lectures are also streamed live for the students at home.

to the lecture series

In the spring semester of 2020, Michael Wagner and the architect Nadine Jerchau-Gay will give a seminar on urban analysis at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The seminar is entitled 'An der Umfahrungsstrasse' (Along the bypass road) whereby students explore the productive urban landscape in the valley of the Kleine Emme and create short film portraits of selected protagonists on site. The works will be presented at the HSLU in May 2020. [image: Fahrni/Pavic/Schlapbach, 2020]

As part of the series 'CA Positions' of the Department of Design and Art at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Michael Wagner gave a talk about the challenges and potentials of imaging urban landscapes.

further informations about the talk

With great pleasure, after months of intensive work with the authorities, we received the building permit for the new apartment building at Klosterstrasse 9 in Klettgau.

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Today Michael Wagner gave an introductory lecture and a workshop on photography of urban landscapes for the students of the BA Visual Communication - Camera Arts at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Emmenbrücke.

Today Michael Wagner was invited as guest critic by Professor Annette Spiro in the design studio Fatti Urbani am See. Together with Annette Spiro, Daniel Ganz and the assistants Rosário Gonçalves, Daan Koch, Nicole Leuthold, Elizaveta Radi and Florian Schrott we discussed the students' urban design projects. It was an inspiring afternoon!

more information about the design studio

Our team is growing. Sophia Disiou graduated in architecture at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). After an internship with Burkhalter Sumi Architects, she also completed an internship with us from 2016 to 2017. In the meantime, she has worked as a design architect at Unit Architects. Now Sophia is back in our team. Welcome again.

view profile

«How and where the energy transition begins [...] Zernez is kind of everywhere at the moment». Paul Knüsel reports in detail on the Zernez Energia 2020 project in TEC21 this week, thank you very much! The guideline and the action plan, which Michael Wagner was allowed to help develop at ETH Zurich, are available for free download in the ETH online library:

read the article on TEC21
Action Plan Zernez Energia 2020
Manual Zernez Energia 2020

Renovation works on the M13 school building of the Rudolf Steiner School in Winterthur have begun.

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Our team is growing. We welcome Laura Hänni, who joined us in June. Laura studied and graduated with Prof. Tom Emerson at the ETH Zurich. Since then she has worked for various architectural firms in London, including We Made That, Adam Khan architects and 6a architects.

view profile

Over the next two years we will investigate the urban densification of urban estates and neighbourhoods and their impact on the total energy demand together with the Urban Energy Systems Lab of the EMPA and KCAP Zürich. The research project 'Urban densification and its impact on energy use in Swiss cities' is funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The project results are intended to support spatial and urban planning decision-making processes in Switzerland.

In the article 'Rurbanitas: On the Creation of Urban Qualities in Rural Areas' which is published in 'GAM.15 - Territorial justice' by Jovis Verlag, Michael Wagner uses the example of the municipality of Lichtensteig to illustrate how a high quality of life can be created and maintained even in a less densely populated and structurally disadvantaged area.

Further Information on the article

Michael gave a talk at the Conference 'Decentralization and Energy – Perspectives on the Reciprocity of Energy Transitions and Decentralization' at TU Delft on January 24th.

Read conference programme

In the winter of 2018/19, Michael Wagner was invited as a guest reviewer for the masters' thesis graduates at the University of Liechtenstein. As part of this year's motto, 'Upcycling', the students dealt with projects on different scales in Vaduz, Balzers and Feldkirch.

On January 15, 2019 Michael Wagner will give a talk at the Münster School of Architecture as part of the lecture series 'Master Lectures 18-19'.

Visit the website of the Urban Design Department – Münster School of Architecture

On behalf of Immo RSS and the Rudolf Steiner School Winterthur we are currently working on a design for an extension to the school building.

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From 2018 to 2019, Michael Wagner holds the mandatory Urban Design lecture series for the Bachelor's programme in Architecture at ETH Zurich.

Visit Website

During his presentation at the 1st Swiss Landscape Congress 2018 in Lucerne, Michael Wagner courageously pleaded for an integral planning approach for the further development and transformation of the cultural landscape.

read the congress paper [in german]
visit the congress website

To further strengthen our team, we are looking for a motivated architect (60-100%) to work on ambitious projects, execution planning and competitions from September 2018 or by appointment.
You are an open, motivated, reliable and independent person with great architectural interest and commitment. You are familiar with the common drawing, layout, image and word processing programs (Vectorworks, InDesign, Photoshop, Office, etc.) and have a good command of written and spoken German. You communicate independently with entrepreneurs and the authorities.
We offer a diverse and challenging working environment with projects for public and private clients. We promote a self-reliant way of working and open communication and value fair working conditions. We are looking forward to receiving your application with curriculum vitae by email to

mail@wagnervanzella.ch

We have been commissioned by the municipality of Lichtensteig in Toggenburg to work on an urban development model.

Serena Keller joined our team in July 2018. She studies architecture at the University of Liechtenstein and is also working there as a student assistant at the Institute for Architecture and Spatial Development. Welcome!

The student council of the University of Liechtenstein has nominated Michael Wagner for the Best Teaching Award and the Mentoring Prize, which is awarded by the students to a member of the University for special commitment and dedication for the students. The award ceremony will take place at this year's Dies Academicus on 9 June.

To further strengthen our team, we are looking for a motivated trainee for challenging projects and competitions from July 2018 or by appointment for at least six months.
You are an open, motivated, reliable and independent person with great architectural interest and commitment. You have studied architecture for at least four semesters, have good Vectorworks knowledge, model building experience and good German language skills.
We offer a diverse and challenging work environment with projects for public and private clients that give you the opportunity to gain insight into different project phases. We promote a self-reliant way of working and open communication and value fair working conditions. We are looking forward to receiving your portfolio with CV (max. 10 MB) by email to

mail@wagnervanzella.ch

Michael Wagner wins the competition for the new recycling center in Zug in a joint venture with Marcella Ressegatti and the landscape architecture firm Sima/Breer from Winterthur.

Article in Baublatt
Article on Zentralplus.ch
Article in the Luzerner Zeitung
Article on Nau.ch

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On 12 March 2018, students of the Urban Design Studio 'Lichtensteig - Mini.City in Toggenburg' at the University of Liechtenstein presented their designs to the citizens of Lichtensteig.

Project documentation
Article about the event in the Toggenburger Tagblatt
Article about the event in the Toggenburger Zeitung

On behalf of Immo RSS and the Rudolf Steiner School Winterthur (planner selection procedure) we are currently working on the planning for the facade renovation of two old school buildings.

Although our competition entry for the redesign of Winkelriedplatz in Basel, which we submitted together with Heinrich Landschaftsarchitektur, was shortlisted by the jury, it was not ranked in the end. We congratulate the team of the landscape architecture office Franz Reschke from Berlin on the first place.

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In cooperation with Hasler Schlatter Partner, we have won the selection procedure for the renovation and conversion of 36 cooperative apartments of the Zielacker building cooperative in Frauenfeld. In the properties built at the end of the 1970s, the bathrooms and kitchens will be renovated and the access adapted to the needs of the elderly and handicapped.

Between 2013 and 2015, the municipality of Zumikon (ZH) carried out a stakeholder-based planning process to develop a robust development strategy with a strategic framework plan. The professorship for architecture and urban design of Prof. Kees Christiaanse actively supported the municipality. In the current volume of the French-Swiss magazine "Les Cahiers de 'ASPAN" on projects in the context of the new Spatial Planning Act, Michael Wagner has summarized the process.

Read article

In cooperation with Fürst Laffranchi Engineers (structural engineering). We congratulate Franziska and Sebastian Müller from Zurich on their first prize.

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In the competition for the contribution of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the 16th Architecture Biennale 2018 in Venice, our contribution 'Agorabundance' came in second place. We have proposed to address the issue of dealing with public space in urban landscapes and we hope to be able to work on the topic, which we consider to be burning, in a different context.

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Website of Marc Latzel

Our contribution to the competition for revitalising and redesigning the village center of Au in the Canton of St. Gallen, which we submitted together with Heinrich Landschaftsarchitektur, was awarded fifth place. We congratulate the Gonçalves/Hausheer team on the first place.

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Exhibition of selected projects by students from three years of the Regenerative Environments course, taught by Michael Wagner as an external lecturer at the University of Liechtenstein since 2015.

Website of the Exhibition

For the book launch of 'Unguided Road Trip' at the bookstore 'Never Stop Reading' in Zurich on 12.09.2017, Michael Wagner talked with the photographer Roland Iselin about man-made landscapes. The panel discussion was moderated by Nadine Olonetzky.

Podcast of the Event [in german]
Publication by Scheidegger Spiess
Website of Nadine Olonetzky
Website of Roland Iselin

In the winter semester 2017/2018, Michael Wagner will be teaching an urban design studio for the future spatial development of the municipality of Lichtensteig (SG) as a guest lecturer in the bachelor's programme of the Institute for Architecture and Spatial Development at the University of Liechtenstein.

Our competition entry for a new administration building in the government district of Frauenfeld reached the third round (15 out of 98 submitted projects) but was not ranked. We congratulate the team of Gäumann Lüdi von der Ropp from Zurich on their first place.

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Milo Strub joined our team in August 2017. He studied architecture at the ETH Zurich, completed internships at blue architects in Zurich and noAarchitecten (Philippe Viérin, An Fonteyne, Jitse van den Berg) in Brussels and was student assistant at the chair for architecture and urban design of Prof. Kees Christiaanse at the ETH Zurich. Welcome!

Our competition entry 'Garde du Nord' for the construction of a new fire brigade station in the north of Zurich has been awarded third place. We congratulate the team of Enzmann Fischer Architects to the first place.

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We currently support the Zurich Council of the Reformed Evangelical Church of Zurich in developing an escape route and fire protection concept for the St. John Church at Limmatplatz in District 5.

The conversion of a single-family house in Schoenenberg (ZH) was completed on schedule and the young family just moved into the building. Congratulations on the new home.

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Radio report from 20 September 2016 on the development strategy for the municipality of Zumikon, accompanied by Michael Wagner and Nicolas Kretschmann from the Chair of Architecture and Urban Planning of Prof. Kees Christiaanse at ETH Zurich from 2013 to 2015.

Listen to Interview

Sophia Disiou joined our team in September 2016. She studied architecture in Athens and has been living in Zurich since the beginning of 2016, where she has already completed an internship with Burkhalter Sumi Architekten. Welcome!

For the Zurich Council of the Reformed Evangelical Church, we have prepared a potential analysis of the properties around St. Matthew Church in District 11. Our study variants now serve as the basis for decisions on how to proceed.

Out of the 57 entries submitted for the redesign of Bahnhofstrasse and Theatherplatz in Lucerne, our contribution submitted with Heinrich Landschaftsarchitektur (lead) and Ballmer Partner AG was ranked 7th.

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We supported the team of Slow and Spicy Curatorial Practice of the ZHdK in the spatial implementation of their Manifesta 11 parallel event.

In cooperation with Ressegatti Thalmann Architects and Mario Rinke (structural engineering). We congratulate the team from Felgendreher Olfs Koechling from Berlin on their first place.

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Together with Ressegatti Thalmann, we achieved 3rd place in the competition for the construction of a new maintenance depot in Sissach (BL). We would like to thank Pirmin Jung Ingenieure for their dedicated support in timber construction and Oppliger Baumanagement for their calculations.

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Michael Wagner attended the international conference' Ruralism. The Future of Villages and Small Towns in an Urbanizing World' organized by the Institute for Sustainable Urban Development at the TU Braunschweig and presented the project 'Zernez Energia 2020' by the Chair Christiaanse of ETH Zurich on 18 November 2015.

Watch video interview

Together with Salewski & Kretz, Zeugin Gölker, Christian Ruppanner and Cathy van Eck, we participated in the second phase of the concept competition for Expo2027 Bodensee-Ostschweiz with the contribution TERRA FUTURA. Unfortunately, another concept convinced the jury more: Congratulations to the team of Hosoya Schaefer Architects.

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We are now working at Schanzengraben 15 in 8002 Zurich. Our office is located on the second floor with a view over the treetops, together with Hasler Schlatter Partner and Karin Schiesser. We are looking forward to your visit.

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For the Reformed Evangelical Church of Industrie Zurich, we have investigated various properties for their structural condition and prepared a potential analysis as a decision basis for refurbishments and building replacements.

On behalf of a young family, we completed the preliminary project for the conversion of a single-family house in the agricultural zone near the village of Schoenenberg.

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The TERRA FUTURA concept proposal, which we submitted together with Salewski & Kretz, Zeugin Gölker, CR Communication and Cathy van Eck to the Expo2027 concept competition in eastern Switzerland, was selected from 59 entries together with nine others for the second competition phase. We are very much looking forward to further processing.

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At the end of November 2014, we completed the conversion work on an apartment building in Winterthur within the expected budget. Two apartments of the house, built in 1926, were combined and the technical infrastructure was completely renewed.

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In cooperation with Heinrich Landschaftsarchitektur we submitted a competition entry for the construction of a new Fishery Center in Steinach (SG) at Lake Constance. The project was unfortunately not ranked. We congratulate the team around Aeschlimann Hasler Partner Architekten on the first place.

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Last week we started work on the conversion of a multi-family dwelling in Winterthur. Two apartments of the house, built in 1926, are combined and the technical infrastructure is completely renewed. The expected move-in date is November.

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In the summer semester of 2014, Michael Wagner holds the Agenda Lehre Guest Professorship at the Chair for Sustainable Urbanism at the Technical University of Munich, where he is developing the focus on' SYNERGIA: cooperations for regenerative territories' as a strategic approach to the sustainable development of the territory with MA Arch and Msc ULS students.

Further Information

The conversion of a terraced single-family house in Oberwinterthur was completed as planned and within the expected budget at the beginning of November 2013.

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Since autumn 2013, Michael Wagner is teaching sustainable urban design strategies as an external lecturer at the University of Liechtenstein in the master's degree programme Architecture.

Interview with Michael Wagner in' Kultur Kompakt' on Radio SRF 2 Kultur about the relationship between city and country. The interview was broadcast on June 4, 2013.

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Complete broadcast on SRF online

Our competition entry for the new fire brigade and police station in Wil (SG) won 2nd prize (in cooperation with Marcella Ressegatti). Thanks to Fabian Bircher for the successful visualization and congratulations to Franziska Manetsch and Lukas Meyer on the 1st prize.

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Following a feasibility study and detailed variation studies, we have developed a preliminary project for three apartment buildings in Zurich Schwamendingen on behalf of a private client.

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Since March 2013, Wagner Vanzella Architects are listed in the commercial register as a limited liability company (GmbH).

Since February 2013, Michael Wagner holds the urban design lecture series 'Design and strategies in urban space' for the 3rd year course at the Institute for Urban Design at ETH Zurich, together with Prof. Kees Christiaanse. Since June 2012, he has been head of the research platform' Cultural Landscape', which focusses on local and urban design challenges in the less to medium densely populated areas.

Michael Wagner was interviewed by the journalist Jessica Bridgers on the subject of the urban-rural continuum in Switzerland for the programme 'City myths' on 21 February 2013 by Monocle's online radio station. The interview (15:43 - 18:20) has been published in the series' The Urbanist' and can be listened to online (sequence from 12:40 - 20:35).

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We are currently planning the renovation of a single-family dwelling in Winterthur. The construction phase will start in early summer and the house is expected to be ready for move-in in autumn 2013.

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In May 2012, the magazine' Umbauen & Renovieren' ('Rebuilding & Renovating') reports on our studio and the renovation of the single-family house in Winterthur Toess, which we completed in winter 2011.

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We are pleased that the renovation work on the semi-detached house in Winterthur's workers' housing estate Toess was completed as planned and thank all entrepreneurs for their commitment. The owner family moved in in December 2011.

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From May to November 2011, Michael Wagner headed the planning part of an interdisciplinary team under the leadership of blue architects. The test planning for the development of a densification strategy for a garden city neighborhood from the 1950s included the replacement of the largest cooperative housing estate in the city of Zurich. In cooperation with Antón Ghiggi Landscape Architects, Dr. Philipp Klaus (Inura Institut Zürich), Prof. Mark Michaeli (TU Munich) and Ruprecht Architects Zurich.

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Raphael Vanzella and Michael Wagner have been working closely together since their studies. After several years of professional experience at renowned architectural offices in Zurich and Berne and several smaller projects which they have been able to realize themselves in the meantime, they have decided to work with each other in the future.