Information
Architecture
Visualisation
Film

In most stone quarries, large, high-quality stones are rare, accounting for only about 5% of the yield, while nearly half of the extracted volume consists of leftover material. The project focuses on using this leftover stone, reducing waste from multiple quarries and shortening transport distances. The nearby cluster of quarries around Biel supports this strategy. Where small stones reach their structural limits, we use large, precisely cut stones to span openings, creating a sharp contrast with smaller rubble. The wedging motif in the stones’ shapes and floor plan symbolizes the traditional keystone—an elemental, precisely crafted connecting element, both visually and structurally. The site, adjacent to noisy railway tracks and a quiet residential neighborhood to the north, acts as a buffer zone. Our building mediates these contrasts—loud/quiet, light/dark, fast/slow—through two distinct facades: a smooth, controlled north side and a rough, angular south side. It touches the noise zone only at points and creates small gardens that help absorb sound. The themes of interlocking and wedging appear on multiple scales in the building’s design. Balconies and access points, made of lightweight metal, contrast with the stone and counter the zigzag pattern of the facade. Despite the building’s contrasting sides, the principle of leftover material use remains central. Much of the leftover stone is placed in gabion baskets to form protective walls, while the rest is mixed with lime mortar and cement, cast in formwork, and cut into smooth blocks showing a cross-section of varied leftover stone. Large stones for structural spans are cut traditionally and used as lintels.