Does Baukultur pay off

My name is Johannes Eisenhut. I am a Germanist by profession and have been working in property development for 10 years. I run Senn Development AG. We develop, realise and market properties with an emphasis on architecture in the Zurich and Basel areas, mainly significant site developments and properties where we value and encourage architecture, Baukultur and radical sustainability.

That's a big question. One’s relationship with architecture is always personal, because you live in it. When I got into property development, which is often about investments and money, I realised that decisions are often made according to completely different criteria than in your private life – and this is an interesting disconnect. The producers are far away from the users because they are not the ones who live in the property.

There are various anecdotes. The anti-epiphany moment was perhaps when I attended grammar school in Baden. The old Kanti Baden is based in a building designed by Fritz Haller, a famous Swiss architect. The new Kanti building was realised by an unnamed architect – you could call it an architectural sin. Nevertheless, at the time I preferred the classes in the new building. I found the Haller building cold and the walls in the new building were coloured. When I walk around the site today, I think: wow, how graceful and decisive Fritz Haller's buildings are. Back then, nobody would have thought I would become an architecture lover.

I experienced an actual epiphany when my wife and I were looking for a house of our own. That's when you become a consumer of architecture. As a renting student or young employee, it's important that the apartment is in a good neighbourhood and affordable. I lived with Daniel Freitag on Anwandstrasse in Zurich for a long time. We were proud to live in the ugliest building on the street. We said: when we look outside, we only see the beautiful houses. When you go to the market as a buyer, you think: what is beautiful? What is a good moment in life? I started to take an interest in architecture, read books, did research. It was funny that we actually found a house that came close to our red-wine napkin drawing. Our idea was not a noble design, more of a 70s experiment.

Senn Development’s owner Johannes Senn built Noerd for the Freitag brothers in Zurich Oerlikon and developed Zwicky Süd in Dübendorf. My company at the time was his creative agency. When he invited me to work for him in development, I asked myself: what does it mean if I develop properties instead of campaigns? Do I feel responsible towards the environment? Am I doing things I can be proud of? That was an important moment, and I realised: I can control this. Johannes Senn is someone who can look in the mirror with a good conscience. We are business-oriented – but not only. And that's probably where the Baukultur lies.

Baukultur is a broader topic. Baukultur is not just about the property, but has a lot to do with a culture of working together, of cooperation. At Senn, we have an internal motto: the love of a place. We have to fall in love with somewhere. Only then do we have the right motivation to develop it. Fortunately, we don't need to take on projects that bore us. I learnt that as an advertising agency. I always had to fall in love with a client's product before I could give them the right ideas. You can't be cynical when you develop. Otherwise a touch of poison remains in the product.

I engage with the place and approach it honestly. Love comes from engaging with something – you love what you know. I also have to genuinely engage with its residents, its neighbours and the community. I have to understand what they want. And only then do I develop what we want. This is where culture lies: the more realities your project embraces and the more people are involved, the more it is accepted and appreciated. This is also added value for the person or entity who has put in the effort and taken the financial risk.

If you cultivate a certain culture in development, the result is added value. In contrast to this common idea of the property developer who imposes themselves on the system and builds housing that nobody wants. That's an old image. Today there are so many regulations, standards, procedures, design plans and cityscape commissions, a stubborn head doesn't stand a chance. And that's a good thing.

When I look at the consumer-goods industry, I can see that architecture is undervalued. Take fashion, for example. Bernard Arnault, the richest man in the world, sells design. If I calculate the price difference between his Louis Vuitton bag and a bag from Liebeskind, they are worlds apart, aren't they? What about a house by Peter Zumthor? Can I sell it for ten times as much as a house by a good architect who doesn't have the same reputation? No. Because a house is an expensive consumer good and the price is existential for most people. Nevertheless, architecture is undervalued.

Our projects show that what you invest in quality is later returned in Swiss Francs. So, there is a return on investment. The same applies to radical sustainability – the people who live in such a project can present themselves as part of the solution and that is worth something to them. When people buy a car, a bag or a suit, it's not just a question of thread, it's a question of lifestyle. This also applies to buildings and spaces.

Architecture is worth something – and by that I don't just mean the design itself, but also the brand. A renowned architect with a good design is more likely to create lasting value. A building that may never have to be demolished and becomes a cultural asset. A monument of tomorrow. Sadly, I recently came across two buildings developed by big name architects, perhaps 15 years old, which, strictly speaking, would need to be demolished. They look beautiful, but are unusable. What happened? In both cases, a self-absorbed client commissioned a star architect to design his headquarters. These buildings cannot be used by anyone else in the future. 

This brings us back to Baukultur. Just like a good film, which is the result of a collaboration between producer, author and director, a good building is the outcome of an exchange between client, developer and architect. It takes several informed parties to produce something that has lasting added value. And yes, this also has to do with flexibility of use and long-term profitability.

There is the Davos Declaration for Baukultur worldwide and the Swiss Foundation for Baukultur. There is a certain amount of hype. You can see it in the inflationary use of the word "Baukultur".

As the founder of Poeticwalls, you are concerned with the question: is architecture viral? And more importantly: Are architecture brands viral? Experience shows that it does matter who the author is. As developers from St Gallen, we work in Basel with Herzog & de Meuron. This ensures a high level of architectural quality, because this office approaches its work with great care, diligence and intelligence. It sets high standards for itself at all levels of the hierarchy. And: their architecture opens doors. That’s banal, but valuable. It's easier to deal with the authorities, it's easier to market, even if I can't ask for much more money.

Exactly. Then desire comes into play. People no longer just consider the price per square metre, but also the beauty and prestige of a building, its effect on employees, customers, investors and so on. You want it.

The expression “star architect” annoys me. I don't think of Herzog & de Meuron in that way. They allow for a research phase that incurs additional costs. Their hourly rates also tend to be higher. And there is the issue of obsession with detail. But the fees are not the critical point, the details in the realisation are. That's why good leadership is necessary. Architects can also make a name for themselves with cost-sensitive solutions. Herzog & de Meuron are also very good at this. I don't know them as a star office, but as a research group of stylistically confident, intelligent people.

In recent years, I have focused on Switzerland. And here it's probably Basel. Basel is a nest of Baukultur. But, urban-planning aspects are currently important throughout Switzerland. They create a framework for quality architecture. Cities with a future cultivate Baukultur, not just in terms of buildings, but in the sense of living together and interweaving the city.

That’s an important element. There is a return on investment if you buy a great building and then sell it. The national economic value of good architecture, on the other hand, is a completely different matter. If you tell your neighbour that you’re building with a good architect, they know that their property will also increase in value. They will be pleased. If you go further and introduce new forms of usage and living, an entire neighbourhood can profit. We want to develop buildings that make people and places better. Good architecture manages to glorify a place. That's not the same as to gentrify it.

We are planning a residential development in Affoltern am Albis with Herzog & de Meuron. The project is called "AAA" – the abbreviation for Affoltern am Albis. But also because it meets very high sustainability standards. Our claim is to initialise the best possible version of the town of Affoltern am Albis. This is also what Baukultur is about.