A Turnhalle in its many incarnations across Switzerland, is typically a boxy structure with very little ornament or queues from its context, instead opting to be a building of pure pragmatism. While the pragmatics of structure and program here for us are essential, our curiosity in this type stems from the desire to invent a hybrid of the adjacent University Campus’s modernist buildings and the local industry with Thun's signature Swiss wooden construction, particularly the rhythm of massive wooden piers that are an ornamental structure for its iconic decorated covered bridge. The building is also intended to act as a buffer between the railway lines and the residential neighborhood. This requires a building that is both tactile and soft in its materiality, but confident in its urban presence. Therefore, its monolithic wooden expression appears not only as an architectural idea to fulfill functional constraints, but to enliven the neighborhood with Thun's regionally produced timber culture. By resolving to this expression, the paradox between structure and ornament can also come to a coherent solution: we are not constructing decoration but decorating the construction.

The new double gymnasium is positioned in the landscape in such a way that the plot boundaries are respected and pedestrians flow freely around the building. Different landscape types were specially planned for each side of the building, giving each its own characteristics. To the east and south, a paved path, lined with meadows and pines. In the north garden there are meadows between the gym and the railway track. Trees line the public pedestrian path along the dam path and benches invite you to relax and linger. The building volume consists of a series of protruding wooden walls which are staggered in three sections and taper from bottom to top. This highlights the spacious public roof terrace and underlines its active multifunctional program for students and residents. The pronounced roof structure can possibly be expanded in the future and accommodate additional rooms in the given surface area. The steel net that fences the roof terrace makes it possible for various events to take place safely, from beach volleyball to larger events. On the ground floor, the alternation of wooden facades and large windows allows for natural lighting in the gym, as well as views from the outside of the different sports in action. Overall, the new building serves as a new highlight of the school campus and as a generous new facility for the neighborhood. The project relates to the surrounding context and is a concrete statement for a sustainable new building in the school’s masterplan.

The building has two main functions; to serve the school with high quality workspaces and classrooms separated from the activities of the gymnasium, and to provide the community with a highly functional gymnasium with extremely flexible and usable outdoor spaces, both of which here have been managed to create a contextual anchor for the campus and neighborhood.