The headquarters of Helvetia insurance is located on top of the Girtannersberg, a raised part above the town of St. Gallen, and in the vicinity of other large building complexes.
The extension by Herzog & de Meuron completes the existing cruciform complex so that a functional and contextual object is created. And it is organized around four distinctly different courtyards. Each arm of the existing cruciform receives an extension whose differing sizes or structural systems correspond to their respective topographic and urban context. The projecting, table-like configuration, on the west contains the entrance, lobby, restaurant and conference rooms and it acts like a head that terminates the complex; the adjacent courtyards to the east open to the park. The two lower sited and narrower extensions are oriented towards the town and are formed as glass cubes. The heavier configuration on the slope with its T-shaped plan form requires a load-bearing facade structure.
Herzog & de Meuron, 1992
The extension by Herzog & de Meuron completes the existing cruciform complex so that a functional and contextual object is created. And it is organized around four distinctly different courtyards. Each arm of the existing cruciform receives an extension whose differing sizes or structural systems correspond to their respective topographic and urban context. The projecting, table-like configuration, on the west contains the entrance, lobby, restaurant and conference rooms and it acts like a head that terminates the complex; the adjacent courtyards to the east open to the park. The two lower sited and narrower extensions are oriented towards the town and are formed as glass cubes. The heavier configuration on the slope with its T-shaped plan form requires a load-bearing facade structure.
Herzog & de Meuron, 1992
THE COMPLETE WORKS PAPERBACK EDITION