Bern: Building application for "Maison Capitol" has been submitted

Originally, the property at Kramgasse 72 served as a residential building, and later housed two banks in succession. In the 1920s, the "Capitol" was built, which was originally used as a cinema and vaudeville theater as well as a concert and lecture hall. In 1953, it has been converted into a pure cinema and from 1979 bin 1981, a studio cinema was also installed. At the beginning of 2018, the operator ceased cinema operations. HIG Immobilien Anlage Stiftung acquired the property in the summer of 2015.

In 2017, a study contract was carried out, which was won by the project of the architects Buol & Zünd. The building application was submitted at the beginning of June 2018. According to the current state of planning, construction is expected to start at the beginning of 2019, and the construction period is expected to be just under two years, the owner says.

During the conversion, the building is to be conceptually returned to the time before the intervention of 1928. This is because a large part of the baroque structure was destroyed when it was converted into the theater. Except for the protected façade on the Kramgasse side, the vaulted cellar and the fire protection walls, the property will therefore be dismantled and rebuilt.

A new inner courtyard will be created between the house on Kramgasse and the three houses on Rathausgasse. The surrounding galleries will be designed with a basket arch motif derived from the baroque Palais, which had to make way for the installation of the Lichtspiel- und Varietétheater in 1928. The new 26 apartments (1.5 to 4.5 rooms) will be accessed via this courtyard space. The first floor is to accommodate stores or restaurants on an area of around 400 square meters, whereby the areas can be divided into a larger area on the side facing Kramgasse and up to three smaller areas facing Rathausgasse.