UNTERFELD ENERGY CENTER IN ZUG, DESIGNED BY LÜTJENS PADMANABHAN ARCHITEKT*INNEN

The design of the Unterfeld Energy Centre, a heat-pump power station, is built around the idea of water in motion. The concept draws inspiration from the Meret Oppenheim Fountain, echoing its unexpected fusion of geometric structure and organic expression.

Throughout the year, rainwater runs from the roof across the façades, gradually filtering into the ground before making its way back to Lake Zug via a nearby stream. This process establishes a secondary water cycle, existing alongside that of the lake itself, and creates a continuous dialogue between architecture and the natural environment.

Rising from the landscape, the Energy Centre takes on a distinctive form that opens upward, visually connecting earth and sky. Its presence is both deliberate and ambiguous, at once natural and constructed, delicate yet powerful.

The building envelope is composed of raw Eternit panels, chosen for their textured and evolving surface. Over time, this material becomes a living skin: mosses and lichens take hold within its roughness, while leaves and organic debris gather in its grooves, slowly transforming into humus. Depending on light exposure, surrounding vegetation, and moisture levels, the façade develops an ever-changing appearance, ranging from fine, subtle growth to denser, more vibrant layers of plant life, occasionally revealing untouched patches of bare Eternit beneath.

project: Unterfeld Energy Center ( pump water center)

architecture: Lütjens Padmanabhan architekt*innen > www.luetjens-padmanabhan.ch/en

programme: facade, energy center 

typology: industrial

location: Zug, Switzerland

client: WWZ Energie AG, Zug

competition: 1st prize

year: 2021 > 2024

status: built 

photography:   Philip Heckhausen (c) 

TECHNICAL DRAWINGS