Haus Sonnengarten (Sun Garden House)

History: The architects were Heinrich and Daniel Oertly and Otto Konrad, commissioned by the company “R. Zürcher-Bercht”, built in 1907. Architecture: The Sonnengarten building reflects the conflict between historicism, art nouveau and early modernist impulses, which was typical of the high-quality St.Gallen commercial architecture of its time. The building is a pillar structure with six axes. It comprises four main storeys above a one-and-a-half storey first floor zone. A hipped roof with storey insertion closes the building at the top. The design of the east façade is particularly interesting: up to the third floor, the window axes are broken outwards and form bay-like projections. Next to this, in the fourth axis above a round arch portal, a bay window enlivens the façade. The large half-arched windows on the third floor combine the windows below to form arcades. Above them, triplet windows with half arches form a conclusion. The differentiated glazing bars on the large glass surfaces and the Art Nouveau style decorations on the panes also contribute to the well-composed appearance. In terms of architectural history, the Sonnengarten is closely related to other prominent buildings in the textile quarter and forms a synthesis of the neo-baroque playfulness of the Oceanic (1906) and the sober pillar architecture of the Pacific (1907). Current use: Today, Haus Sonnengarten is home to a software company and a communications company, among others.