Haus Pacific (House Pacific)

History: This commercial building was characterized by the fact that it had a dual function: manufacturing and representation. It served as a warehouse and transshipment point. The embroidery products, which came from various suppliers, including homeworkers, were also finished and packaged in the Pacific building. In addition, the administration, design and sales departments were located in the same building and often also an apartment for the patron. It is clear that the successful and proud businessmen also wanted to represent themselves with their “establishments”. At the time, St.Gallen was a small cosmopolitan city that absorbed influences from other cosmopolitan cities: Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Chicago and San Francisco served as a source of inspiration for the architects who built in St.Gallen. Architecture: In 1906-07, Haus Pacific was built by the architectural firm “Curjel & Moser” for the company “Zürcher, Niederer & Co.”. Although the architectural firm had its headquarters in Karlsruhe, it carried out so many major public and private commissions in St.Gallen that a branch office was opened here, in Haus Pacific. The early use of reinforced concrete technology in 1906, which made this voluminous yet slender pillar building with large window openings possible in the first place, was groundbreaking in terms of architectural history. The reinforced concrete skeleton is clad in sandstone and the sandstone façade is enlivened with discreet ornamentation. Today's use: Today, the building stands its ground in the neighborhood of the Raiffeisen headquarters and Roter Platz. It houses the construction management school of the St.Gallen Vocational College as well as several medical and complementary medicine practices.