Former Grand Garage du Jura, Commercial building in New City North, Switzerland
The former Grand Garage du Jura is a commercial building in the New City North district of Biel, combining workshop, exhibition, and office spaces within one structure. Large windows run across the facade, a semi-circular staircase tower rises along one side, and the upper floors hold residential units.
Eduard Schmid designed the building in 1929 as the main distribution point for Ford vehicles in the Biel-Seeland and Berner Jura regions. Over time it lost its role as a garage but remained standing as an example of early modern commercial construction in the city.
The curved facade and the semi-circular staircase tower are typical features of the Bieler Moderne style that shaped the city at the start of the 20th century. Walking past the facade, you can easily see how commercial function and residential use were brought together in a single structure.
The building sits in Biel's New City North district and is easy to reach on foot or by public transport. The facade is best viewed from the opposite side of the street, where you can take in the full shape of the semi-circular staircase tower.
The building has a rooftop garden terrace that gave residents of the upper units a private outdoor space directly above the workshop floors. This kind of arrangement was rarely found in Swiss commercial buildings of the 1920s.
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