Ryff-Areal

"Multi-part factory complex built in three stages. The core building is a three-storey building made of exposed brick with a flat-roofed risalit piercing the eaves on the south and north façades. A first, east-facing extension adopts the formal language of the core building. The slightly younger extension on the west side, which now characterises the building, represents a structural innovation through the use of reinforced concrete ceilings. In contrast to the two older parts of the building, whose façades are mostly divided by arched windows, the west wing has rectangular wall openings whose lintels are formed by the continuous concrete ceilings, which have a wave-like grooved structure. A risalit projecting twice the wall thickness breaks through the eaves of the hipped roof on the west façade and supports a projecting flat roof. The rounded corners are repeated on various parts of the building. The north-facing balcony risalit is covered by a stately dwarf roof. The west wing has a glazed ridge extension. At its core, the building reveals a dry historicism. The balcony and staircase balustrades of the west wing are characterised by Art Nouveau vegetal forms. This part of the building not only occupies an outstanding position among factory buildings in Switzerland, but can also be compared with the pioneering European industrial architecture of the time, as developed in the circle of the Parisian architect Henri Sauvage. Several outbuildings, some of which were designed by well-known architects, are grouped around the main building. The open shelters built as a timber construction parallel to Marzilistrasse also deserve special mention. After the demolition of the factory was under discussion for a long time, renovation work began in 1983."

© Building Inventory 2017, Monument Preservation of the City of Bern