New use for a former prison

When the prison moved from Chur to Cazis, the premises of the Sennhof prison became vacant. Now they are put to a new use. Apartments, offices, services and restaurants are planned.

An open district of Chur is being realized on the Sennhof site. With the new Sennhof, the city is getting an extension of the old town with a broad mix of uses, writes the building construction department of the canton of Graubünden in a message. In other words: after two hundred years, the Sennhof prison will once again be freely accessible to everyone. The conversion includes residential, commercial, gastro and a hostel.

New life in old walls
Those responsible for the project emphasize that in future people will work and live around the newly accessible inner courtyard. In the planned new building on the Sennhof site, 29 modern old town apartments will be realized. The heart of the complex remains the actual Sennhof, which, with the tower from the 13th century, is a distinctive identification feature. In addition to the tower, the arched wing and the buildings along Sennhofstrasse will be retained. The proposed project blends the existing building structure harmoniously into the old town, according to the building construction department. The angled part of the new building means that the inner courtyard is redrawn, opens up towards the vineyard and looks more spacious overall, according to the team of architects. The overall idea is supported by the diverse and well-structured mix of uses with a restaurant, commercial, residential, cultural and student space. Except for deliveries, the area should be car-free and only open to non-motorized traffic.

Construction is expected to start in autumn 2020. The project development company Sennhof submitted the building application for the project in mid-February 2020. The company consists of Brandis Investment AG and Miro Immo AG. The Chur office Ritter Schumacher is responsible for the architecture. The project developers provide an insight into the planned project as part of the temporary use until October 2020 on the Sennhof site in Chur. If everything goes according to plan, construction work should start in the autumn of this year. ■

Text: Philipp Dreyer / Quelle: www.sennhof.info / Visualisierungen: Ritter Schumacher AG