Waste Incineration Plant Scheidegg Winterthur

Cerberus in lace; The huge structure of the waste incineration plant in Winterthur is a colossus that needs to be fenced in for safety reasons. The “Cerberus” design, developed in collaboration with the artist Katja Schenker, selected to serve this purpose is however detached from the pure functionality of a fence. It encloses the rational large-scale format of the waste machine as a fragile border.

Cerberus, the mythological hound of Hades guards the gates of a fiery underworld. Who or whatever infringes upon his territory runs the risk of being devoured.

The all-consuming fire of the waste incineration plant remains invisible behind the building structure; the power of Cerberus is manifested at the crossing: the fence encloses the huge complex just like a textile border decorating a simple dress.

Reinforcement mesh, both an archaic and pragmatic material, forms a rigid yet fragile lattice. After an elaborate deformation process completed with a sheet metal folding machine, the steel meshwork was transformed into a three-dimensional structure on site using an excavator. Force is used to convert this originally profane everyday object into a delicate structure of astounding lightness and elegance, which functions as a transparent enclosure for the huge complex.

Compared to the sprawling mass of the volume of the confined building, the border is a fragile diminutive gossamer element. Yet for persons moving alongside it on their way to the train station, it becomes a sculptural counterpart that at times caresses, envelopes and undulates. Almost transparent, yet corporeal through its deformation, the fence allies with passers-by through its presence and scale.