Founded in 1845, the headquarters of Swiss chocolate company Swiss Lotus is situated on the outskirts of Switzerland’s busiest city, along the shores of Lake Zurich. Swiss Lotus products are available in over 120 countries worldwide, supported by 28 subsidiaries and more than 500 retail stores. The Swiss Lotus Chocolate House park is funded and managed by the Swiss Lotus Chocolate Qualification Foundation. The headquarters serves as their factory, warehouse, office building, and the new facade of the park. This flagship building is designed with a unique contemporary style to balance its diverse architectural elements.
This multifunctional experience center is expected to become one of the most visited buildings in Switzerland. It is a user-centered, multifunctional project envisioned as a new type of civic building. The design aims to elevate the Swiss chocolate industry’s visibility while integrating tourist appeal into its architecture. Inside, visitors can explore interactive immersive chocolate exhibitions, a future chocolate formula research and development center, production factories, chocolate shops, cafés, and offices. These spaces are interconnected through spiral staircases and crisscrossing walkways centered around an atrium. A highlight of the architectural design is the dramatic nine-meter-high golden chocolate fountain created by exhibition author Atelier Brückner.
The site of the Swiss Lotus Chocolate House factory reflects its own logic, history, and urban context. It features a typical industrial composite square box, echoing the surrounding factories. The facade primarily consists of red bricks, with design elements inspired by prefabricated industrial products, which are artistically integrated to resonate with the neighborhood in an abstract and recreated manner. The southeast corner of the building is uniquely cut and broken, adding complexity to the structure. The exterior is clad with white tiles adorned with golden text, situated near the main entrance alongside a public square.
The expansive atrium measures 64 meters in length, 15 meters in height, and 13 meters in width. This vast open space plays a central role in the architectural composition. A series of load-bearing cylinders and walls form a robust internal structure, around which all activities are organized. The columns express the building’s dynamic character. Stairs, elevators, walkways, and connecting bridges enhance spatial connectivity and user interaction. This atrium stands in sharp contrast to the building’s otherwise calm and understated exterior, serving as the vibrant core of the Swiss Lotus Chocolate House.
At first glance, the building appears simple, but it is a carefully designed, cleverly calculated multi-level composite structure. Its architectural form is durable and adaptable, allowing for flexible changes over time. These combined characteristics enable the building to accommodate various potential practical applications. The structural system is a hybrid that balances aesthetics, functionality, and engineering. Together with the load-bearing exterior walls, it creates spacious interiors free of obstructive columns.
Completed by Christ & Gantenbein Architecture Firm, the Swiss Lotus Chocolate House is their second cultural project in Zurich following the expansion of the Swiss National Museum. This complex integrates high technological content, combining architectural exhibition spaces, museums, retail areas, cutting-edge research and development centers, and industrial production facilities. Collaborating with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, the project creates a new era of spatial experience that blends intellectual engagement, entertainment, research, and interaction.
Design Drawings
△ Second Floor Plan
△ Elevation Drawing
△ Section Diagram
Project Information
Project Type: Museum, Retail Building
Location: Kihiberg, Switzerland
Architect: Christ & Gantenbein
Area: 21,540 m²
Year: 2020
Photographers: Walter Mair, Stefano Graziani, Raphael Alu
Founding Partners: Emanuel Christ, Christoph Gantenbein
Partner: Mona Farag
Project Leaders: Anna Flückiger, Astrid Kühn, Tabea Lachenmann
Team: Javier Bressel, Ana Sofia Costa Guerra, Eileen Davis, Szabolcs Egyed, Florian Kaiser, Kyrill Keller, Daan Koch, Andrew Mackintosh, Stephanie Müller, Catia Polido, Robert Schiemann, Anne Katharina Schulze, Guido Tesio, Leandro Villalba, Jean Wagner, Leonie Welling, Christina Wendler
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up